There is a relatively high incidence of epilepsy in Sierra Leone, because of the high fevers that infants and children endure due to malaria and other diseases. Medicines are available to control epilepsy but cannot cure it. But many victims of epilepsy in Sierra Leone cannot afford even the transportation to go and collect the medications which are distributed on a cost-recovery basis in sparse locations. Many suffer with seizures, referred to as ‘falling down,” which can happen as frequently as every day and can result in injuries, including burns. Eventually they can damage the brain.
On May 26, 2025, at our mobility cart distribution in Foredugu Village, about seventy miles from Freetown, a local woman “fell down.” She was allowed to lie where she fell and was almost entirely ignored by the villagers gathering to observe and help with the assembly of the carts. After about one hour, when the effects of her seizure wore off, she got up and simply marched off. Foredugu is on the road I take between Africa Surgery’s two main bases. On my next trip going by, I stopped with some clothes and other basics for the woman, whose name I learned was Umu Kamara. I learned that she was severily hearing-impaired, probably also because of fevers suffered in childhood. We got Umu a 5-month supply of epilepsy medications, which we left in control of a facilitator of the local disabled persons group.