During the last seven months of my Peace Corps service, I am featuring photographs and stories of several persons with disabilities living in Cameroon. All the photos are part of a series called “Persons with Disabilities of Cameroon.” The goal of presenting photographs and their stories is to create better awareness about the plights that persons with disabilities face in a developing country. When I return to the US, I hope to exhibit this series in a gallery and publish a book to educate others about persons with disabilities living in developing countries as this topic is so rarely discussed in the media.

Therese is a young, quiet woman in her 30’s who is unable to walk, has bowel movement issues, has never been to school and never left home.  When I spoke to her, she was very shy and spoke very softly.  She lives with two of her sisters and her parents.  One of her sisters shared Therese’s story with me.

“When she was born, she had something on the lower end of her back and water was coming out of it. She spent one month at Bamenda Regional Hospital. And then they transferred her to a polyclinic in Upstation. From there they transferred her to Yaounde. She spent nine months in Yaounde. They operated her in Yaounde. After that they gave her quinimax injections. Her head was big and she could not stand. She returned to Bamenda. She was crawling since she cannot stand. Her feet turned outwards from crawling. She cannot control her stool,” said elder sister Esther.

As Esther was sharing her story, I was thinking in my head, “This condition sounds like spina bifida.”  I asked them if they were familiar with “spina bifida” and they said “no” and have never heard of the term.  I explained to them that it’s a condition where a person is born with a lesion on the lower back, which is caused by the spine not closing completely during the pregnancy of the mother.  This results in some growing up unable to walk and having bowel movement issues.

Therese visited a nearby rehabilitation center when she was a child and tried leg braces.  “They did not work and she doesn’t use it,” said Esther.

Esther who has been taking care of Therese all her life said that she needs adult diapers but cannot afford them even though they are available for purchase in Bamenda.  She said that if she could have adult diapers, she could leave the house.  She stays at home all day and never leaves the house.  She hasn’t been outside at all. “She doesn’t know any places around here. She had only heard the names,” Ruth, my work partner who introduced me to Therese and accompanied me to her home told me.  Esther added that she is too shy and she doesn’t want people to see her.

She has never been to school all her life. “She cannot write,” said Esther.  When I asked Esther why she has never been to school, she said it’s because of her bowel system, and they were unable to find transportation to take her to school.  All of her other seven sisters completed secondary school.

When I asked Therese what she does every day, Esther responded saying that she arranges eru for the aunts to sell everyday. She cracks eru, an African wild vegetable, to sell. She washes her family and her dresses. She helps arrange the house by putting things such as shoes and clothes in order.  Esther added, “She can dry clean and do house chores by crawling.”

I asked Esther what challenges she faces in helping Therese and she said, “I carry water for her when she wants to wash her dresses. When she poops, we carry it out. When she wants nice things like food, we go out and buy it for her. We always advise her.  She is always angry.”

Therese with her sister (left)

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