NO PLACE FOR THE ME, MYSELF AND I SYNDROME

We heard on the radio and read in the newspapers that a little 7-year-old boy had been severely burned by his mother.  He had been admitted to the Secetoure Hospital where Dr. Malulu, who is involved in our Centre, works in the children’s ward.  Dr. Malulu tells us that although the mother seems to be repenting, she never really admitted her wrongdoing but that the boy had told him in confidence that he couldn’t say what had really happened because:

He was afraid that if he spoke the truth, his mother would be put in prison
His mother was the sole family provider
His father had already left them and they didn’t know where he was
He has two other siblings at home to think about
He said that there would be no one left to feed them
He also couldn’t figure out how he’d manage to feed his mother in prison
He was scared that she’d die and they’d be left with no parents at all

Even the hospital’s staff openly told us that they had been against the idea of calling the Police in this particular case because they felt that the mother was repenting and “Who would be left to feed the 3 kids?” they asked us.

That is exactly the reason why a Centre like the one supported by the Karibu Foundation is so vital.  We believe in helping the children AND their families. We believe in starting a movement, where every citizen stands up, protects and offers aid to the helpless. Through the services we provide, the parents can be helped before their anger becomes criminal, before they act out and cause harm, cripple or even kill their own.

Years back, when we started standing up to protect and defend children in our country, we were initially satisfied to identity the guilty, bring them to justice and have them sentenced to jail.  We were taking a stand and setting an example but at some point, we realized that jail was not always the best solution and that in fact, some parents who abuse their children were also in serious need of help. The initial stage of needing/wanting to put every parent/care taker who who abused their children in jail is precisely what Karibu Foundation is trying to avoid here. Since it took us about 75 years to determine that jail is not always the answer or most ideal solution, there is certainly something to be learned from past experiences. If our aim is to establish structures to eliminate Domestic child abuse, torture and mistreatment, it seems logical to me that we do so by keeping in mind what other countries have learned through their own process of establishing those same types of structures.  I admit that sometimes there is no other way and that jail is necessary but isn’t it also true that often jail isn’t the solution?

A few years ago, I would never have imagined that I’d be capable of writing such a statement, so believe me, I really do understand if some of you are reluctant to consider what I’m saying – some might even be shocked… but let me say that after having lived here in Africa for about 3 years now, certain of my strong convictions and beliefs have been put to the test, abandoned and replaced with a different view of things.

I have come to realize that among all of the diseases that exist here in Tanzania, the worst one of them all, the one that destroys, harms and affects so many of its people, is the Disease of poverty.  I have come to understand that poverty in itself can also be a disease which makes people do things they never thought themselves capable of doing.

So here is a photo of little Richard Musa, only seven years of age, lying in a hospital bed with both of his arms, chest, chin and lip burned to the point where proper healing has become doubtful, and despite all that he’s already putting the survival of his siblings first. There’s just no place for the Me, Myself and I syndrome here in Mwanza.  That is just one of the reasons why I am so committed to helping them and why I am determined to keep bringing you real life stories about my experiences here, so you continue sending your precious donations and encourage the people you know to do the same, so together we can keep Karibu Foundation alive out here and eventually