Every parent and caregiver has gone to extraordinary measures to protect their child from injury, illness and other forms of harm.
Our eldest, who's now 15, suffered from severe eczema as a child. We tried all kinds of ailments and the treatment that worked most effectively was kyogero, the traditional herbal mixture that is boiled from mainly the barks of specialized trees.
My husband and I , reluctant at first, used it and marvelled at the positive results. Sustaining this method was difficult and as time went on, we stopped using it. Gradually, the severity of the eczema reduced. Occasionally, as a teenager she will react to certain harsh elements.
In 2010, crossing over to her second birthday, my husband and I booked a Mash Poa bus to Nairobi, to visit relatives, before heading to Mombasa. What a treat!
Mombasa in 2010.
Fort Jesus, camels and oceans, singing paths, stories of pirates, heat and freshly squeezed juice at every corner.
And Mama Golparii.
It was at Fort Jesus when a tour guide, upon observing the young tourist couple with their toddler taking walking across the Fort, offered to share the history of the place. He was more captivating than the history lessons in primary.
He went on to tell us that as a tour guide, he had learned several languages namely German, French and Italian. Yes-all that from his job as a tour guide. Impressive!
The Fort, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is located in Mombasa City on the coast of Kenya. Designed by Giovanni Battista Cairati, it was built by the Portuguese in 1593-1596 to protect the port of Mombasa. (https://museums.or.ke/fort-jesus-mombasa/)
This observant tour guide then, upon noticing how our two year old was itching and fidgety, offered to take us to Mama Golparii, the lady who heals all skin ailments.
Skeptical, we thanked him for his service, paid his exhorbitant fee of 2,000 Ksh per person and boarded our tuk tuk back to the guest house.
That first night, a in a room where the mosquitoes teased the mosquito net like an accountant teases employees with their salaries, threatening to come close, disappearing and then attacking. Our first night in Mombasa was unpleasant, and the next day we opted for finer lodging.
Our eldest bore the bring of it.
The next morning, over a scrumptious breakfast which for the life of me I am unable to recall, we went back to Fort Jesus. After the night we had had, we welcomed the idea of Mama Golparii's healing powers.
We went winding down Old Mombasa, in an out of old buildings closely packed together, along the winding paths with closely kept stories. We followed him with no other choice since we had no idea of our way back. It was solemn. It was foreboding.
"Here we are," he said.
He called for her and as part of her welcoming committee, five or so cats leaped out of the front door before the presence of a maternal looking pleasant faced woman came out.
She and the guide spoke in Kiswahili and then she greeted us.
She was warm and had a broken tooth, visible every time she spoke or laughed.
Afterwards, she explained at length how she uses natural medicine from the trees and herbs to cure all types of skin conditions from boils, sores, acne and more.
And yes, she had just the right ointment for our daughter's eczema.
Going back indoors, she returned with various sizes of jars with a creamy mixture, that looked like odii, the sim sim paste from Northern Uganda.
We offered to buy enough supplies worth 2,000 Ksh, thanking her profusely and hoping that she did not notice how we just wanted to get out of there fast. Winding back through the dark corridors, mysterious alleyways and whispering buildings, we finally boarded a tuk tuk back, this time to a much better guest house.
That was not after paying our guide 1,000 Ksh for his services.
It was upon return to Nairobi, at my aunt's that we noticed something a little rather 'off' with the medicine. Our daughter's skin was drying up like a deserted leaf.
My aunt watched her niece struggle to walk and expressed shock when she learned of our little medical tourism adventures. That was the end of Mama Golparii's ointment.
It may have worked for other people. For us, that was not so.
I remain curious to know if she is still there in Mombasa. She made our trip memorable.
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