Kande*, a 23 year old Nomadic Fulani, has been married for 3
years and has one child. Her second pregnancy resulted in a labor of 2 days
assisted by a midwife, but her baby was stillborn and Kande developed an
obstetrical fistula. Her husband brought her to DFC in hopes of receiving
surgery to stop the leaking urine. He then returned to his clan.
Kande was shy and timid, she didn’t understand the Hausa
language, and no one spoke her language, Fulfulde. She was far from her husband, her child and
her people. Although she wanted healing, her initial days were not easy.
Fortunately Kande met A’ii, another Fulani woman, and they were able to speak
together in their language during their time at DFC. Kande and A’ii both had surgery which
repaired their obstetrical fistulas, and both agreed to stay to take part in
the reintegration program where they learned embroidery and sewing in addition
to how to process this traumatic experience in their lives. After three months
of training, their graduation celebration arrived with festivities, food and
dancing. Eager to be reunited with their families, some of the women left that
very afternoon to return to their homes. Her friend A’ii was one of them. The
joy of the day turned to tears as Kande realized that she was surrounded by
Hausa speakers, and she didn’t know how to get home. Her people, nomadic
cattle herders, might have wandered far from where they had been when she left
them.
Normally our women are able to take the transportation money
we provide for them for their journey, and they make their way back to their
homes in remote villages. But when your home moves from place to place and no
one in your camp carries a cellular phone, what are you supposed to do?
The DFC staff rallied to find Fulfulde speakers to reassure
her. With some detective work and phone calls to Fulani pastors in her region, they
were able to determine the market village where men from her clan would go to sell
animals and shop. Steve Brown, the DFC director,
speaks Fulfulde, and he was eager see Kande reunited with her clan. He
travelled 2½ hours with Kande and two DFC staff members to the town of Korodo*
where they consulted the local authorities before going on to the rural market
town of Dangu. But in Korodo the officials were reluctant to allow a Westerner
to travel without armed escort, so Steve remained with Fulani friends at the
Fulfulde ministry training center while a Fulani student familiar with the way
to Dangu* joined Kande and the DFC team.
When the team arrived at the Dangu market, they asked many,
many people if they knew of Kande’s clansmen. Finally they located two men who
had travelled in for market day. Their business concluded, the men were happy
to climb in the team’s vehicle and guide the team back to the area where their family
was currently camping. Kande was finally reunited with her husband and child as
the day drew to a close.
*Names have been changed