After 5 weeks of living here, I've come into contact with a
disturbing phenomenon. The mother of someone we know had to bear some
terrible insults from a neighbour. The next morning, she pours oil over
herself at 4:30 and sets herself on fire. When she was rushed to the
hospital, the doctor said that she only had 10% chance of survival. She
passed away the next day.
6 days later, we arrive at the school site at 7am when one of
our skilled workers comes up to me and says that he has some serious family
business and he needs to leave right away. He jumped on the auto to
travel for another 45min to get home. The next day I heard that his whole
family rushed to the hospital at a nearby city. Another case of 3rd degree burns, but this time the
19-year-old had 5% chance of survival. The worker’s wife’s niece was
caught in a kitchen “accident” and whole house burned down. Her
3-month-old baby boy was rescued out of the fire in time, so he just suffered
from breathing in smoke. This young mother was conscious at the hospital
and apparently she kept saying, “I don’t know why I did it.” Her death
was filed as an accidental death, but she most likely committed suicide.
I can’t help but wonder what prompted her to take such drastic measures.
In-law issues? Abusive husband? Postpartum depression? I
don’t even know if most people in the countryside know what postpartum depression
is.
How do we go about addressing such
issues? Why do people commit suicide so easily? Is it because they
believe in rebirth? Is it because they lack a strong understanding
support network? Once again, I have questions, but no answers. All
I know is that we need to educate children from a young age the value of life
and share with them the hope that is in Christ. The enemy comes to steal,
kill, and destroy, but Jesus came to give us life and life more abundantly.
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