Kenya 2022 Reflections: It will never be enough, but it will never be too little

As I place my hands around the swollen belly of a heavily pregnant woman, in the remote arid, hot lands of the Pokot, I wonder (for the umpteenth time) if I’m of any use at all.

The unborn baby of this young mother-to-be is lying oblique, undescended and high above the pelvis. It seems to sense no urgency of a missed due date, the anxiety of its mother or the importance of finding a better position to lie.

The mother’s first baby died in childbirth due to complications linked to the mutilation, devastation and scarring to her vulva, clitoris and vagina as a result of FGM (female genital mutilation). No, not female circumcision, not cutting; but mutilation. It can be the only way to describe this violent and barbaric act. There is nothing sterile, neat, clean or remotely health related to this practice.

This is just one of many complications of the practice of removing all external genitalia with razor blades and sewing the remaining skin together again, closing over the vagina and urethra to just leave a pencil size hole to urinate, menstruate, have sex and give birth through.

This woman’s second baby is unable to correct its lie and descend into the pelvis due to the torsion in the uterus and pelvis, and extensive scarring of the pelvic floor.

As the mothers story unfolds beneath my hands and I feel the trauma, the shock, the breath held as if braced and in waiting, I question again and again, what can I do?

I wait for my doubts to recede and to feel a stillness within myself. I feel her body leaning back into me, I feel her calming, her presence coming into my hands, I trust her trust in me. And I begin.

This is osteopathy in the field, knowing that you have no back up, no substitutes, no referral team, no hospital, no alternatives. You are all they’ve got. You just have to begin.

Whether I was patching up broken bones with simple K-tape and a lolly pop stick, cleaning infected wounds and burns, handing out de-worming drinks, food, shoes, or treatment for pelvic floor scarring, it never felt like it was enough.

But if I didn’t do it, who would? There is no option of giving up, there is no one else who can do it for you. And surely something is better than nothing I kept telling myself, even if it didn’t meet our standards of care in the UK, even if it wasn’t a long-term solution, even if it wasn’t enough.

So on a wing and a prayer I worked, with the words ‘it’s never too little’ thrumming around my head.

My wings were my osteopathy, and my prayers were either whispered or yelled into the clouds; ‘please make what little I CAN do helpful’.

FGM is still practiced throughout Kenya, despite it being made illegal in 2011. The rates are beginning to decline in more connected and educated areas such as within the Maasai. But amongst the Pokot, rates remain stubbornly high at about 99%.

The charity I work for, Divinity Foundation, works primarily caring for women and children affected by FGM. They provide education, healthcare and a rescue centre for girls at risk.

The centre was built in 2014 and provides full board, lodgings, healthcare, education and most importantly, love, kindness, and protection.

When a girl goes through FGM at around the time of her first period, it is a right of passage and she can then be married to whoever wants her, no matter his age or how many other wives he has. This destroys any chance of her independence, education and freedom.

The charity rescues girls at this juncture and offers them an alternative. They can assume guardianship and protect the girl for as long as she needs it.

 As the girls grow their needs become more complex and expensive. Often involving hospital stays, court appearances, higher education costs, travel and living expenses.

And this is where you can help. If you feel this is something you would like to get involved in, the charity runs a sponsorship program for each girl. For £40 a month you can cover all these costs.

Your support is absolutely transformative for the lives of these girls, the scope of the charity, and all the 2500 patients we treat during each expedition.

I am so incredibly grateful to you for your donations of money, clothes, shoes and your kind words of support and encouragement. Without you beneath my osteopathy wings, I wouldn’t be able to give what little I can, or be on this life-fulfilling journey.

If you would like to learn more, please visit the charity’s website www.divinityfoundation.com and if you’d like to sponsor a girl, please contact me direct at emma@the-sop.com

Thank you. From the very bottom of my heart, thank you.

Emma Wightman

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/humanitarian-osteopathy

www.the-sop.com