The village of Kyekyewere was once struck by a strange disease. All those who reported sick complained of the same symptoms - feverishness, headache, general body weakness and red itchy spots on the skin.
Those whose conditions turned out to be worse ended up losing their lives. The sad thing was that the sick refused to go to the clinic for treatment because of a sudden rumpus in town that the gods were angry with them hence, the outbreak of the disease and its accompanying deaths.
For this reason, sacrifices were made to the gods yet the inhabitants of Kyekyewere, both old and young, continued to die in their numbers. This became a great source of worry to the chief of the town, who did not know what else to do in order to address the failing health of his people.
One day, a group of medical doctors who have been offering voluntary medical services to deprived communities heard of the sudden deaths and the strange disease that had struck Kyekyewere. They decided to go there to ascertain what exactly it was and if medically it was curable, they would offer assistance in order to save the lives of the inhabitants.
When the team set foot in the town, the first thing that hit them was the stench. A look around the compound of a few houses was enough for them to draw their own conclusions. There was garbage everywhere and their main garbage dump had all manner of insects flying around, bathrooms were dirty and their gutters were choked.
Before the team decided to go and see the chief and elders of the town to tell them of their mission, the medical doctors started digging around for information. “Who should burn the rubbish and clean the gutters? Please, gentlemen, that is not our responsibility; it is the duty of the assembly and the chief to find people to do that. How can I alone clean all this area?” That was the response from Auntie Aba when the doctors asked her why they did not keep the community clean.
Armed with this information, the medical team set off to see the chief. When they arrived at the chief’s palace, they told him that they suspected the cause of all the deaths and illnesses in the town was the insanitary condition in the town. ‘Uncleanliness? how?’ asked Nana Sasraku.
‘Yes, Nana, it is dirt and not the gods that are killing your people,’ said Dr Ntiamoah, the leader of the medical team. Continuing, Dr Ntiamoah explained that the people did not keep their environment clean. The garbage dump and the choked gutters, for instance, had become breeding places for mosquitoes and these insects were making them sick.
He added that since they did not seek medical help, some of them died in the worse cases. Dr Ntiamoah told the chief that the rashes on the skins of the people were from the frequent mosquito bites.
After 30 minutes of explanation, Nana Sasraku was convinced that, indeed, it is unhygienic conditions and not the gods that were killing his people.
He immediately summoned his gong-gong beater to ask the townsfolk to gather at the community centre where they would be addressed by the medical team. In less than 30 minutes, Dr Ntiamoah and his colleagues started addressing the people, explaining to them why they were getting sick.
Afterwards, the medical team attended to the sick among them and supplied them with free medication as well as treated insecticide mosquito nets. Immediately, majority of the inhabitants started keeping their environment clean and used the mosquito nets as they have been advised.
However, Papa Allotey, who was so drowned with traditional beliefs, thought otherwise. He still believed the gods were responsible for the calamity that befell their community and therefore, even though he was showing symptoms of malaria, he refused to take the medication given to him.
In no time, his condition worsened and unfortunately, the medical doctors had left too. His relatives rushed him to a clinic in the nearby community but he died on arrival at the clinic.
All those who heard of Papa Allotey’s death said he had brought it on himself. The people of Kyekyewere continued to live a healthy lifestyle and in no time none of them complained of feverish conditions again.
Dear friends, the Bible says ‘cleanliness is next to godliness.’ Let us, therefore, keep our environment clean so that we will not fall sick.
Hannah Nana Yaa Forson,
Benaga Star Academy,
Akim-Oda, E/R.
