This is a harsh story so just be prepared before you read...
Yesterday I took a boy named Simon to Sister Fredas. He used to live in one of the houses at Oasis until he ran away.Hes been gone for some time now, but showed up at the Oasis center about 2 days ago with severe burns all over his upper body and head.
And not blistering burns or anything, his skin had been so badly burned that it hadn't even blistered, it had already melted off.
We asked Geoffrey what happened and he said that Simon had gotten into an argument with a another guy and the other man had said some things about Simons mother and sister that apparently really upset him because Simons response was to pour paraffin on himself and light himself on fire.
This didnt happen a couple of days ago, it happened on the 11th, 2 1/2 weeks ago, and Simon has been living in Kipsongo since it happened. By the time he got to Oasis it was so infected and had been so long that he couldnt look at you straight because what was left of the skin had hardened with his head tilted to the side.
At first he refused to be admitted to the hospital but then Jane, the doctor talked with him and convinced him to stay. When I left he had been given some medicine and they were in the process of disinfecting and cleaning the burns. Were going to Freda's tomorrow so we'll get to see him then and see how hes doing.
Whats disturbed us, and even the doctors talked about it, was psychologically what would cause someone to do this to themselves...
3 comments:
Geoffrey wrote me about this. I wish you had known Simon a few years ago. He was the brightest boy at Oasis and the leader of the whole school. He finally got his chance to go into a house. He was one of the original boys in house 2. But, he ran away after only about a month. He came back to Oasis and started over and we gave him a second chance when house 3 started. But, he ran away again. He has been in and out of Oasis so many times...but, now he is too old to even feel comfortable there.
Simon is one of the saddest stories and why we really need to be able to start vocational training for the older boys. Although he was so bright...he just didn't feel comfortable going to primary school with little kids. He is probably almost 18 now and was 15 or so and in the 5th grade back then.
His mom and sister were in a terrible fire last year. Their home in Endebess burned down and his sister died. I am sure he has been carrying so much guilt about not being there for them and even for the fact that they suffered in a fire and he didn't. These boys and girls have had so much loss and abandonment in their lives. So many of them need real psychological help. It breaks my heart to hear that this has happened. Please tell him Mama Lydia is praying for him and that I love him.
Yeah, this just broke my heart.
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