Orphan Embarrasses Governor’s As He Publicly Decline Medical Offer, Siting Previous False Promises.
They say once bitten, twice shy.
A team from Governor Mwangi Wa Iria’s office got the rudest
shock of their life after they were shamelessly sent away by a Form Three
student in Mugumo Secondary School in Ithanga who they had come to collect for
medical attention.
19 year-old Samuel Njihia, who since birth suffers from
neurofibromatosis of the mid face that has already affected his brain, his eye
and the jaw, refused to board an ambulance that had been dispatched to collect
him from school by the Murang’a governor saying that he was uncomfortable with
Wa Iria’s gesture after he had previously duped him twice.
“He (Governor) had sent some people today to collect from
school, claiming that they were taking me to hospital. I refused the offer
because in 2014 when I approached him in Ngelelya, he promised to assist me get
the operation. He later sent his wife a few months later but nothing has ever
been forthcoming. They suddenly kept mum and have never bothered to even
contact me,” said Njihia who is an orphan.
Njihia claims that all his efforts to reach the governor had
been in vain to a point that he lost hope.
As fate would have it, on 10th April this year,
Kigumo MP Jamleck Kamau visited Ngelelya and Njihia grabbed the rare
opportunity to seek his assistance. The MP promised to look into the matter and
true to his word, days later, he sent a team from his office who took Njihia to
Nairobi Hospital to have an examination to determine his ailment and the extent
that it had eaten into his face.
After the check-up, the doctors recommended for surgery that
needed three doctors at a total cost of sh. 1.5million.
According to Betty Maina who works at the MP’s office, the
office kicked off a campaign to raise the funds, with Jamleck already pledging
sh. 300,000. They have already scheduled a funds drive on the 2nd of
July 2016 in Kenol Town where the Leader of Majority in the Senate Prof. Kindiki
Kithure is the chief guest.
“On behalf of the office of Mheshimiwa Jamleck, we have been
running a social media campaign for the last one and a half months appealing to
Kenyans and other well-wishers to intervene and help him raise the amount,”
said Betty.
Betty says that they
have managed to open Njihia’s medical account with Unaitas Bank where the area
chief, Njihia’s class teacher and guardian are the signatories.
She appealed to all those who were willing to assist Njihia
to do so under one umbrella as his health was paramount and superseded all
other interests.
Joyce Wambui Nduaru, the boy’s guardian, narrated how the
boy came to her house for accommodation immediately he completed Class 8. She
says that all through he has been living with them as one of their own.
“Njihia has been living here with my children and no one
would ever note that he is not one of my kids. He has been facing problems
especially when studying at night since he has to use paraffin lamp which
affects his eyes,” said Wambui.
Njihia says that he has benefited once from the Kalonzo
Musyoka Foundation who funded two of his first operations in Kijabe Hospital
but were unable to go ahead with the treatment due to lack of funding.
He is now appealing to well-wishers to come to his aid and
assist him go through this final surgery. He says that the problem has blinded
one of his eye and was slowly affecting the other, a fact that is worrying him
so much.
“I am appealing to well-wishers to help me raise this money
for I fear it might get worse and render me totally blind,” said Njihia.
Neurofibromatosis (NF-1) is a condition characterised by
growth of noncancerous tumors along the nerves of the skin, brain and other
parts of the body. About 50% of these cases are inherited from a mutated gene
from a parent in an autosomal dominant pattern.
Visual loss secondary to optic nerve glioma is the most
serious ophthalmologic manifestation of NF-1.
No comments: