Dropped Off To Die

A few days ago we had a sad case in the clinic. An emaciated woman was dropped off at the clinic and then abandoned. She was very sick and needed a care taker. We asked the guard and night shift worker why they let someone just leave her alone and they couldn't give us an answer. So, the next day we sent them to her village to find a relative. They came back with a man who said he knew her. We told him she needed to be referred to Don Bosco for TB and HIV testing. We had stabilized her as best as we could and now there was nothing more we could do for her. Keeping her at our clinic became a hindrance because it prevented her from getting the care she really needed. He said no one wanted to take care of her. She had been left to die. We told him that was not ok. He said he would leave and come back with food for her. We wondered if he would abandon her too. We told him if he left her here, we would go to the police. Fortunately, he came back with porridge and told us her family was planning on leaving Tonj in the morning to escape having to take care of her. We weren't going to let that happen so we decided to take them home. We drove her there with a couple of our guards. They began to fight when our car arrived because they didn't want her. Somehow they convinced them to take care of her and left her there.

It was really sad. How terrible she must have felt. Just dumped somewhere to die. I pray that she will somehow feel loved and find hope and get the treatment she needs.