The center of Lira saved the life of Vivian

Vivian's family spent a lot of money to get the girl well, but nothing helped. Coincidentally, they came in contact with our professionals in Lira and that was the rescue.

TEXT AND PHOTO. MAGNE REIGSTAD

 

We are visiting a well-groomed yard surrounded by shady palm trees and lush pasture. Peas, oranges, bananas and corn are produced on the family's plots of land. This provides almost enough food and income for the family of nine, and in addition they get meat and milk from four cows and three goats that graze in the green behind the houses.

A quite different mood prevailed in the family a couple of years ago. Then they discovered that Vivian (14) had an infection in one foot. The first impression was that the witch had looked at the girl with an evil cloth. Then they sought the advice of a doctor, but the doctor benefited most from the visits. He was unable to stop the infection. The prospects were bleak for Vivian and the family had no more money for further treatment.

Coincidentally, the Foundation Adina Foundation ran an information campaign in this village as well. Father George and mother Hellen contacted and told about what fate awaited the daughter. Vivian could lose her life if she did not get help immediately.

"It was an incredibly devastating time for us, and Vivian's health affected our entire village," says George Okai. Vivian has left behind the traumatic time, and it has become a quite different mood in the hard-working family.

Vivian's parents are aware that Adina saved her daughter's life. Now her parents are almost considered self-proclaimed ambassadors for our center in Lira and our policy. It can be challenging enough to carry a modern mindset in an area where the witch's power is taken seriously.

The parents encourage others with disabled children to seek contact with our people when they visit the village. Vivian goes to boarding school some distance from the village, and occasionally her father or mother rents a motorcycle to visit her. Public transport is rather scarce.

Their village is of what we can define as the modern kind with its own common savings bank and very disciplined borrowers. George and Hellen say they invest everything they can in for the best possible education for the children.

And Vivian's future plan is simple and well-founded: - I will become a doctor because the doctor helped me.