A sad day at a school...

I went in to one of my schools last week to support two of the teachers. The head came along to say that she was off to a funeral as someone in the community had died yesterday, and that she and some of her teachers were going to attend. The young man was father to two children at the school, and uncle and guardian of some others. He was a well educated man, with some money, and clearly a pillar of the community.

I was in P3 when we saw hundreds and hundreds of people coming down the dirt track to the makeshift church – a building without a roof which is also home to two P1 classes. Men, women, old, young, on motorbikes, bikes, in cars, going to pay their respects to this young father who had died so tragically.

I spoke to one of the teachers, an intelligent lady in her 50s, the depute head and teacher in P2, about what had happened. “He was coming home from town,” she said, “and an insect stung him in the neck. He was taken to hospital, but he just died. So we think it must be witches, how else would a healthy young man die from that.” Sadly, this response didn’t surprise me, a common belief being that witches are responsible for all sorts of misfortune. Initially, I thought it was only those with traditional beliefs that believed in witchcraft, but actually the majority of Ghanaians do still believe, even the most orthodox of Christians or Muslims. “Perhaps he was allergic to bees or wasps,” I suggested. “Many people don’t realise until they are stung or bitten that they are allergic.” “But he died quickly, how?” the teachers asked. I explained that if allergic, your tongue can swell up and you just can’t breathe anymore, and that although the adrenaline they give you is not a complicated drug, if you don’t take it fast enough, it’s too late.”

I hope that perhaps my explanation will slightly change what those teachers believe but I doubt it.

One wonderful woman I’ve met is Mama Laadi. She runs a foster home for children who have been accused of being witches, or those whose mothers have been accused and often killed. She’s taken in many children that no-one else cares one bit about, or are scared to care about.

I hope the family is able to understand this man’s death and seeks some solace from the church, as many people do; and that there is soon a greater understanding of medicine in these rural parts of Africa so that innocent women and girls, and men and boys, are not punished unjustly.