By Nasratu Kargbo
7 December 2010. Before cockcrow. Margaret Dumbuya and her husband sneaked out of Port Loko. She clutched their two-month-old daughter and they set off for Freetown. Reason: To save her from family members who believed that the child was an evil spirit and the cause of their hardship. They agreed she needed to be returned to the world beyond - a euphemism for killing her.
Now 15, Fatima Dumbuya – not her real name – was saved from what seemed a certain death. But her parents could not save her from the constant discrimination, ostracism, humiliation and rejection she has had to contend with from babyhood.
Where it all began
The mother explained that Fatima was born premature in October 2010, and that due to her weight, the hospital medics who delivered her, abandoned the infant at the thought that she would not survive. Margaret who had experienced miscarriages and was desperate for a child, saw her daughter as a blessing and gift from God.
She recalled how their daughter’s growth was so slow and painful. She could not sit, crawl or walk at the time infants normally do. With tears running down her cheeks, she recounted how Fatima faced so much provocation at that tender age and was called a demon that should be killed.
“I never gave up on my child, I continued to take care of her till she was able to walk” she said in between sobs.
At age six, she was enrolled in different schools and got maltreated because she was seen as wild and different. “They believed my child was useless because of her condition. The last school we enrolled her in, they asked my baby to squat, as a form of corporal punishment which led to tearing of the main vein in her knee”, she said, adding: “That knee still hurts up to this day, and even one hospital recommends surgery but we can ill afford it. My daughter is going through excruciating pain, she cannot walk fast or long distances due to the pain”.
And due to the constant maltreatment, she took her daughter out of school, an action that further frustrated the girl who loved going to school despite the challenges she faced. The frustration made Fatima to resort to speaking to herself, a condition Margaret said led her husband to believe their neighbours’ assumption that the child was evil. The husband, now deceased, at some point chased poor Fatima out of the house in the middle of the night.
She said that her brother had to intervene and encouraged her husband to take the girl to the Kissy Psychiatric Hospital, where she was put on monthly medication which calmed her and helped her speech. The doctor recommended that they enroll the child in a school for children with autism. She further explained that her husband, who was a nurse, used to administer injections which eased their daughter’s knee pain.
Each day, Margaret would travel from Waterloo to Calaba Town to accompany her daughter to her new school, and would sit outside and monitor her progress and how she was being treated. But her stay-in was also out of another necessity: she could not afford the back and forth means of transport which was why she had to stay outside the school throughout the day.
Remarkably, there has been a marked improvement in Fatima’s reading and writing skills, and can now spell her name and read the children’s story book ‘Ola and Ball’
“She loves education that was why she was frustrated when she had to stay at home for over a year,” the mother said.
Margaret sells ‘Kayan’ – a Sierra Leonean food made from rice flour and groundnut butter, with sugar added to it. She also does backyard gardening and sells the crops at the market in order to take care of her daughter and survive.
She lives with her daughter in a house with a leaking roof, uneven floor and no bathroom, and that their landlord has asked them to leave, stating that before her husband died he had only made part payment for their single room. The teenager and her mother only have each other.
Autists are not demons, they need love
“My child is not an evil spirit and I am happy I never gave in to my husband’s family’s suspicion. Autistic people are not demons. My daughter will turn sixteen soon, and after my husband passed away six months ago, she has been my only family member,” Margaret said.
Project Manager of Sahid Autism Foundation Sierra Leone, Emmanuel Dawo, said that his nephew is autistic and was taken to different churches and traditional healers to get a cure, with the belief that he was demon- possessed.
He stressed that autistic children need love for progress to occur. The Manager explained that most of these kids live with their mothers, who most of the time have been abandoned by their husbands or partners due to the child’s condition, making living conditions tough for the child.
Dawo explained that his sister was fortunate to travel to the United States with her child, and saw how these kids were treated with love, care and respect and so she decided to frequently send food items and hygiene products for children with autism.
He said they would usually converge the kids in one place and teach them basic hygiene such as how to brush their teeth, wash their faces and take proper bath. So she eventually decided to open the Foundation.
Speaking on what inspired the establishment of the Foundation, he explained that they found out that most of these children had been rejected in schools. They opened the school and partnered with the Children’s Unit at the Psychiatric Hospital, since they do the diagnosis.
“Not all schools can contain these kids, because they do not have space for them and also because they do not have the knowledge on how to teach, handle and care for them”, he said, adding: “When you bring your child to us for admission, we will refer you to the Psychiatric hospital to know which type of autism the child has and how they can receive help medically. I believe it is a two-folds, the child must get medical help and gain education from us.”
He emphasized that these children should be treated with love and care and that children with special needs should get access to education in a conducive and love-filled environment.
A message to mothers with autistic children
“We should not give up on our kids and ignore naysayers, because if you listen to them, you’d hate your child. You should love and take care of your child,” Magaret advised.
She encouraged other mothers to spend time, care and express love to their autistic children, adding that abandoning, insulting and saying hurtful words to the child would only discourage them and affect them negatively.
Government, MoHS and Development Partners
Fatima is one of 710 autistic children who are currently taking treatment at the Kissy Psychiatric Hospital, many are abandoned even by their parents who should take care of them. Her story is a testament that these children need schools and hospitals that cater for their needs.
The Ministry of Health and Sanitation (MoHS) through its medical practitioners should sensitize the public on the possible causes of autism and how to prevent it. Educating the people will go a long way in changing their perspective and superstitious belief that these children are demons.
Development partners can also help support projects that focus on caring for these children.
The neglect has to end.
© 2026: Politico Online
