Story and Pictures by Darious Kapembwa
WHILE everybody else will be enjoying their festive holidays with their loved ones and families, the story of daily anguish and the fight for survival for 59-year old Justina Pule hangs on.
Pule was born able bodied in 1963 in the mining town of Chingola and was able to do everything on her own. But her story took a complete turn for the worst when her father retired from the mines and relocated to his home village in Luwingu. Justina and her sibling were just teenagers then. And while they were settling in the new environment, a bout of malaria swept through their household and, sadly, her brother could not survive. He died from severe malaria but for Justina that was just the beginning of her own troubles and probably a totally whole new laboriously painful adulthood life. All of a sudden, Justina felt stiffness in her legs, she could no longer stretch her legs, she could no longer walk and soon she could no longer sit but only lay on the ground unable to move on her own. Life had turned upside-down, the family could no longer enjoy life, and every day was a hustle to find Justina some cure. It was no longer just malaria; they had to deal with the new case of paralysis.
Justina’s dreams were shattered: the nearest Catholic Mission managed to sort out the malaria but it was too late to cure the paralysis and her legs stopped functioning. She was now of age, life was becoming unbearable and the only thing a Catholic priest did to ease her movements was to buy her what was a modern wheelchair at the time which she relocated with back to the Copperbelt (Kitwe) where she now lives with her two daughters and a grandson. When her wheelchair served its purpose and broke down, a Good Samaritan helped her with a wooden one but heartless junkies in her community stole its tyres when it was left outside the hut where she lives in Mindolo extension. She is now back to crawling in trying to fend for herself and her loved ones in a small hut whose leaking roof also gives-in to heavy downpours during rainy seasons. Justina no longer goes to sell pre-packed ground nuts on the streets as her mode of transport is broken down and this has brought in serious economic hardships for her.
Within the vicinity of her ‘home’ is an unfinished three-roomed house that she was building with proceeds from the lobola (dowry) paid for her daughter’s marriage sometime back. But what she thought had lifted the burden off her shoulders when she gave away her eldest daughter in marriage turned out to be a nightmare. Her daughter entered an abusive marriage, a situation worse than Justina’s own condition such that the victim support unit of the Zambia Police Service recommended that the couple separated, fearing that one of them might lose life if they continued living together. She is now appealing to well-wishers to help her finish her house and also a wheelchair to help ease her movements in this rainy season.
“It has been very rough for me as you can see. I am the one who fends for the little ones I live with. If people can assist me with some money I finish the house you have seen under construction outside and maybe a wheelchair, I would be very grateful because at the moment I just survive by the grace of God,” Justina narrated when this reporter visited her home. “Nshafyelwe ifi, awe (I was not born like this, no)… I am the one who takes care of the little ones, I am really struggling that’s why I need help from the people of God.”
Justina is one such strong woman that greets you with a beaming smile at first sight as she ushers you inside her small hut, while crawling behind you as she tries to settle down. But in truth she is only trying to stay strong for the little ones she is taking care of like most mothers do. She needs help to weave through her unusual daily life challenges, any help rendered towards completion of her house and aiding her movements would surely lift a huge burden off her life.
For those willing to help Justina, please contact the author at The Mast: dariouskapembwa6@gmail.com, call or WhatsApp +260-979-116328.
The Mast