When the Diabetes Youth Care, a non-governmental organisation which caters for children with diabetes, visited little Pamela Wayor at Osu, in the Greater Accra region, she met us wearing a broad infectious smile.
The Diabetes Youth Care had read a feature I wrote about the plight of the 13 year old girl and with the swiftness of a duiker, they contacted to offer an assistance.
“Hello, my name is Dr. Nana Ama Barnes, I came across your article on the news and I wanted to know if I could help out. I have a diabetes support network for young ones living with diabetes. We can help her out,” read an email I received.
That email conversation would later on lead us to the house of the Wayors on that sunny Sunday, May 21, 2017. Pamela, today, wears a straight dress. Her permed hair is carefully combed backwards to tie it behind her. But, her somewhat swollen feet would not allow her dazzle in any‘fashionable’ shoe as she rather wears a bathroom slippers.
Pamela sees me entering her compound and like the cassava leaf she stretched her arm with her palmwidely opened for a warm handshake.
“I’m fine and you, too?” She said.
After a short familiarization between my guests from the Diabetes Youth Care and the Wayors, the President of the NGO, Joseph Kwamena Larsh, would tell the family the reason for the visit.
“Diabetes Youth Care saw the story of our young girl which caught our attention. We decided to do a follow up and trace up so to provide all the necessary support our young girl would need,” said Larsh.
Mr. Larsh who is himself a diabetic assures the family that their ward would be fine in a very short while.
“Pamela in this case is a student and she is very young living with diabetes. We are going to provide her with a lot of education which she might not know as at now. We organise monthly meetings for them [children living with diabetes] educating them on living healthy as diabetic patients.”
He added that “you are going to see a big difference she joining us.”
For Esther Wayor, she counts herself blessed as one of the happiest persons to have enjoyed the benevolence of society.
“I am very happy and I thank Diabetes Youth Care for coming to my aid. A lot of people have assisted me after the story of Pamela was published,” said the mother seeking cure for her daughter.
Indeed, few hours after the article detailing Pamela’s plight was published on 3news.com, on May 18, 2017 and titled “Life on hold! Girl, 13, battles diabetes,”I received a number of emails and messages on Twitter. These all pointed to one thing; how to support the little girl.
Richmond Apore is a Ghanaian based in the United States studying to become a medical doctor. In his email sent to me, he said “I came across your story on the plight of Pamela Wayor. And [I] was wondering how I could be of timely assistance in contributing funds for the purchase of the girl’s basic needs.”
The next day Mr. Apore sent via Western Union $200 to be given to Pamela. What impresses me in this assistance is that a student seeing it needful to donate in saving life.
Pamela on the visit of the Diabetes Youth Care was taught how to inject herself with insulin. With guidance from the founder of the NGO, Dr. Nana Ama Barnes, the girl was taken through the self-injection education. Pamela learnt that with ease.
Esther Wayor is poised to see improvement in her daughter and so she pledges not to discard ways to properly feed her.“I will take good care of Pamela’s diet because diabetes is a dangerous disease. I have really suffered seeking medical care for her.”
Dr. Nana Ama Barnes says she has arranged for a dietician to assist Esther Wayor provide the girl with good care.
Renowned author, Mark Twain, was not far from right when he opined that kindness is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see.
For those who contributed to Pamela’s well-being but would not want to be named, the family of the little girl says ‘thanks.’ And for those who wished assisting in anyway but could not, may God increase your yields to be of help some other time.
The writer is a broadcast journalist with 3FM 92.7. Views expressed here solely remain his opinion and not that of his organisation.
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