Young girl, wetin be your name
Alice
Wetin you dey do here?
Na my tisha bring me come. make dokita helep me make I no dey be like this again
Wetin dey do you?
I no know...I dey piss. I dey hol am, i dey hol am. e no gree. na im make dem say make I comot for house. say i dey smell.
When the doctor talk say im go do your operation?
im talk say tomorrow
When you recuperate, wetin you wan do?
I no sabi dat one
when you recover, wetin you wan do? when u no be like this again, u wan go your papa house?
*shakes head *I no too wan make tomorrow come. but the smell dey worry me. so make e come but i no wan go my papa house.
why?
my papa say make i no come im house. say na me make Okpidingo vex come dirty our house.
what is...wetin be Okpidingo?
na spirit. e vex say i bad so e collect my pikin . Na im collect my pikin
U get pikin?
*shakes head*
wey the pikin
e dies
I am sorry
nooo, e no big. so e dies
Wey the papa? the pikin papa?
E dey house?
Na im bring you come here?
No...na my tisha. my tisha come carry me for road where I dey sleep, na im bring me here
So your husband chase you comot for house and your papa chase you comot for house?
Yes
Wey your mama?
e dies...many long away . na she get de shop wey she dey take pay my school money. when she die...money no dey. my papa e don dey sick tey tey.
How old are you?
Thahtin.
i see...ehn?
I understand
Ok...u hav sweet?
No, I am sorry.
All de oda womens dey bring sweet and biscuit come. Dis dress sef, na dem give me
Oh, that's nice.
After tomorrow, i go wash am well well. e no smell again. wheesh womens are you?
ehn?
wheesh womens are you? u no oyinbo and the womens wey come before, dey no stay long. dem take pigsho, dem comot. some of dem dey follow us talk but some dem come look us and dem comot. dem no see my garden. u wan see my garden?
U get garden?
Yes, I get aibeesgos. i get one yellow one. i don forget im name but i get aibeesgos. na there i dey do my assignments
u have assignments?
i dey go school. dem get school here. my tisha and im wife say make i come dia ouse when i comot. na im wife make my hair. e fine, no?
very beautiful. u r a very beautiful girl.
Tomorrow. after dokita. i fine better better. i clean. i no smell. i no dirty again.
You were never dirty, my sister.
ehn?
Yes.
Ok. Come make I show you my garden. the aunty for keeshin ave some mango. i gi you one.
Thank you
Wetin be ya name
Dolapo
My name na Alice
I know
You be my friend?
Yes. I am your friend. I am your sister.
Okay, next time , you bring sweet come. ok and i keep mango for you
Deal
ehn
Yes.
24 comments:
i know i shldnt have ignored the instruction in the first paragraph, but it's still an interesting read.
My God! This made me feel like crying.
She obviously is a VVF victim.
Poor child @ 13!!!
Something has to be done REALLY!
this was powerful, I loved it
wow...this gives you the chills and makes you refraze the prayer request you were about to make to God for a pair of prada shoes....everything else fades into insignificance.
afrobabe said it quite well. sad!
I tagged you Catty.
Check my blog.
er..i don't really get it? why do she smell? is she preggers?
despite our claim to developement its shocking how we still find multitudes with similar conditions(VVF) which is most times as a result of violating the right of a child/woman by forced early marriages and all especially in the north..
i guess its time we actually try to reach out and stop saying someone should do something cos we are that someone...
I don't know if I read right, but if the part that she was talking about who are the women and how some come and just leave, without talking to them, that just reminds me of all the stupid NGOs we have in Nigeria. They are all ways for some rich kids to feel good about spending the money their folks stole. Sometimes what some people need is love and an ear to listen, not just money.
Really nice write up. Straight to the point. We got a lot way to go.
Very profound Cat. As always it seems in Nigeria, ignorance reigns supreme. How can we teach the unteachable?
This is really terrible! At thriteen! God help this young girl o!
hmmm, this is a frightful experience for such a young gal.
had goose pimples when reading this.
Dis is a very very strong post. Enlightenment is soooo necessary.
Really sad, it got me thinking and i realised that the young girl had hope despite her situation or could it be hope due to ignorance??
This is so sad.. I feel so helpless.
Teediva: Thanks for stopping by
Princessa: I speak up, you speak up, we all speak up for our sisters. Something is being done...just not as fast as we need it and as wide as it should reach
Zena:I hope you share it
Afrobabe: You can say that again. I read on someone's blog about what some women have gone through in the congo and I am so grateful for my life right now that I don't even think that I am broke...just cash deficient
Isi: I agree
Princessa: Thanks. I am also thankful
The experiences of an achiever: she has lost control of her bowels as a result of complications in childbirth. this is common when the woman's body is in no way capable of having a child, like when her body is still that of a child.
Fantasy Queen: It all starts with you and I deciding to say something
Mineexclusively: There are alot of people claiming to be doing something about the situation. Like when all the governor's wives show up at a homeless shelter, take pictures, distribute rice and leave. They do not get to know the people there, they do not return. It will be filed away that they are doing something but it is those like the girl's teacher and his wife, the doctor, the aunty with gifts of fruit in the kitchen, the Dolapos who take time out of their lives to help others that get the job done.
In writing this, I am asking myself what role I am prepared to play in the celebration of my womanhood and my sisters
Atutu: yes we can. we decide that we will do it and it will be done and for those that do not want to learn, we let them know there is no place for them in our society
Writefreak: she is one of millions
Hopeful B: it was exhausting writing it
Pink Lips: she had hope because she still is a girl. she is still thirteen and even though her body has done the work of a thirty year old, her mind is still not formed enough to be destroyed by it because she does not fully comprehend it.
Or maybe she does and is suppressing the horror behind a mask of optimism and a child like attitude
Allied: you are not. say something.
hmmmm? makes u think, doesn't it?
cat, u're 3rd eye always blows me away.don't let it go blind i beg u.
wow... this brings back memories...I happen to have an aunty/family friend that has this ministry in lagos that habilitates prostitues/those who have been abused...I went to the house were she sheltered them. it was sad to see girls way younger than me going through stuff that I could not comprehend..
I am glad you are creating an awareness of these ills...
Stories like these are so touching. It should be in the Naija vagina Monologues...or was there a VVF story there?
I just found out...Good luck with it PDbraide, can 't wait!
wow!!!...i think this may be my first time really reading you...and what a read indeed...very sad...just reinforces the need for the work that i want to do and why i need to go 'home' to work...thank you...
Tell me "thattin" doesn't mean 13
Loved it Catwalq. You write very well. I grow green!
Ide.
Eiyaah, the poor thatin yr old girl's got VVF.
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