This is Riziki. She is 15 years old and has a two week old baby. She hasn't been married yet which is strange for the Maasai. I assume probably her father and the father of a neigbor suitor haven't arrived at a brideprice yet. Of course, that doesn't keep Riziki from gettting pregnant at 15 years old. Her Maasai name is Seketer, but now that she has become a Christian she recently changed her name to Riziki. Riziki is the word that they use in Tanzania when they are praying the Lord's prayer, "Give us this day our daily Riziki" Essentially, it means provision.
On Monday this week, Heidi had some time to go out to a Boma and visit some women that had recently given birth and she found herself at Riziki's house. When she arrived, Riziki and her baby looked bad. There really isn't any better way to put it. This 2 week old baby, Sara, wasn't moving. She couldn't have been more than 3 pounds. She wasn't eating, crying, opening her eyes. And there was a big sore inside of her mouth that was preventing her from breastfeeding. Riziki on the other hand had a weak look to her and a similar sore on her mouth. Since syphilis is a common ailment here, it looked like a firm diagnosis and given the potential for the baby to have contracted it in childbirth or breastfeeding, it seemed like an important thing to take care of right away.
Heidi came back to the base and I drove our new minivan, just imported from Japan, out to the middle of maasailand to pick them up and take them to the hospital.
We arrived at her boma and found her father there. As we presented to him the importance of sending his daughter and two week old granddaughter to the hospital, he was more concerned about the cost and the length of time they would be gone. After much deliberation, he conceded that he would allow us to take them to the hospital, but if the bill came out to more than 6 dollars, he wanted them returned because he had no money to pay any more than that. (later I came to find out that this was one of the richest men in the area with over 1,000 head of goat and hundreds of cattle) Or, of course, we could pay if we wanted. :)
Of course, then, we picked them up and rushed them to the hospital as it was nearing 9:00pm.
When we came back, the two week old, 3 pound baby was so small and weak that they couldn't get an IV into her because her baby veins were continually collapsing and it was all I could do not to jump over the counter, take that huge needle from the nurse and defend that baby with my life. Of course she was only doing her job, but it was heartbreaking. Finally the night was over and we went home to get some rest before we returned in the morning, but before we left, I noticed a black piece of cloth tied around Riziki's neck and another tightly around her arm. I still know so little about Maasai culture, so I left it alone.
When we came back the next day, this poor 15 year old girl was ready to go home with her baby. She had never been in a car before, let alone to the middle of a bustling city like Arusha and she was terrified. The nurse came back with all of the bloodwork and informed us there were several diagnosese and they would need to stay 3 days in the hospital, fed every day, and some kind of provision made for a change or washing of clothes. We were far past the 6 dollars now...
Every day I came, I brought food, soap for washing, clothes for the baby, tea and drinking water and, most importantly, some words from the Lord and prayer. I sat down with Riziki and talked to her about Jesus and how good he is to take care of us when we need Him the most.
At the end of the 2nd day, before I left, this little girl, so young and already a mother, looked up at me and said, "nafikiri mimi sihitaji kuvaa vitu nyeusi hivi bado. ( I don't think I need to wear these black things anymore)" The black cloth around her neck and arm were given to her a few days before we found her. The old man who knows about the spirits came by her boma and tied those around her to let everyone know when they see her that she is nearing death and to prepare themselves. She looked up at me from her hospital bed, next to her baby that was now eating well, awake and alert, without any prodding or convincing, and asked me if I could help her take them off. She didn't see any need for them.
I sat down and started untying the cloth and stopped, realizing there was no need for me to have any respect for a black death band binding the hand and kneck of this daughter of a living God. Instead, I took out my pocket knife my sister gave me for Christmas and cut her loose, the whole time praying a prayer of praise to a living God that actually does talk to his sons and daughters, new and old. I sat there on that hospital bed giving thanks to a gracious God that works through every situation, good and bad. I left, got into my car and wept in the quietness of the presence of the Lord after proclaiming the Provision of healing that God brought to a girl named "Providence"...Riziki.
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