It is normal for all humans to be born and feel loved but it becomes different for the kids who are born and live with disabilities in Rwanda. This story narrates the life of an innocent but depressed kid whose mother is desperate due to the way the part of our society has a wrong perspective towards the disabled kids. You will know about the kid who, for 21 years old, has been hiding in the forest and being chased by the neighbors. The kid is traumatized and he cannot face the public because of the bullies and stigma from the society who call him a monkey due to his disability.
Who is this kid?
NSANZIMANA Elie was born in 1999, he is now 21 years old, he lives in southern province of Rwanda, he has never gone to school due to his mental health issues, he stays with his only poor mother who takes care of him, he is always afraid of meeting people apart from his mother. He does not know to socialize even the kids of his age, he is afraid of them, said his mother, we were happy when we managed to wave at each other.
The life of NSANZIMANA Elie
We have asked his mother to tell us about the life of his son and said:
Elie, is my sixth child, his five elders have all died. After the death of his elders, we were desperate and shocked. We prayed to get another kid and fortunately in 1999, we gave birth to NSANZIMANAElie, he was very small with a small head. This worried the doctors and we could not believe he will grow. We were afraid that he would die like all his previous kids.
Now, I cherish him as a heaven's gift from God and I love him enormously. By the time, he grew bigger in size, now he is 21. He is always afraid of people that is why he always run away. He even run away from me to the point where I sometimes use a rope that I throw ahead of him in order to stop him from running away.
Does Elie's sensory organs work properly?
He has speaking disorders, but he can hear and understand whatever you can tell him like to bring or carry something (a jerry can) he responds accordingly. That means he can hear but unable to speak.
Did he go to school?
Oh no! He did not, the whites and doctors said he could not go to school that his intellectual capacity cannot allow him to; he has surviving knowledge but not for studying, that is all doctors told me, said his mother.
How do your neighbor behave towards both of you?
It always break my heart to hear my neighbors insulting my son calling him monkey, gorilla and other unpleasant names. 'Barankomeretsa' the mom said unhappily. The expression that means 'I feel pain'. She added, whenever I hear anyone bullying or insulting and beating him, it really gives me a heart attack. My kid is innocent, he never does any harm to anyone so it angers me to the point I become unable to control my temper when people call him an animal and not treating him as a human being.
Do you know why your neighbors call him monkey?
He spend lot of his time in the bush and we have found him eating on the grasses like a goat or a cow. That means without his mother's inspection, he cannot come back home and we also keep an eye on him to help his mother, said one neighbor.
What other challenges do you face? The mom replied:
Normally my son does not like food, he can pass a day without eating yet I served him a meal. He simply likes bananas and fresh foods and it is not easy to provide the basic needs for both of us. I do anything alone and I am poor, he cannot manage to do anything to help me due to his issue, all he does is running away. I always supposed to run after him, he runs faster, I sometimes call upon help from my neighbors in order to stop him and bring him back home. It is hard to keep an eye on him and running with my old ages with no jobs. In fact, it is not easy to afford the basic needs with a poor family like mine.
Finally,we call upon all institutions in charge of helping the disabled kids to support this family and the local administration to keep advocating for them.
Manuka hasi utubwire icyo ubuze mu inkuru kandi wifuzaga kukimenya✍ cga Igitekerezo cyawe kuri iyi nkuru umaze gusoma. Urakoze🙏
Source : https://yegob.rw/the-unheard-story-of-a-kid-whose-society-made-him-depressed/
