Rejected by his family, man finds a home in hospital

Goddie is probably in his 80s but no one here can recall his exact age. He is slim, tall, dark and a bit frail. He has lived his life to the fullest, as the millennials would put it.

He spends his evening alone watching the sun setting over the Eburu Mountain outside his little shanty built decades ago in Gilgil hospital compound. He is probably now looking back, with a lot satisfaction at a life well lived.

People here know him as a dedicated farmer and shrewd entrepreneur who navigated through very many hurdles in his life to own a ‘home’ and a large herd of goats that did well in this relatively dry Town of Nakuru County

The only hurdle he was never able to overcome was the thieves who stole his livestock and depleted his stock. These were able-bodied men, unlike Goddie who suffers from a mental condition.

Today, his maize crop, the only crop he could afford to grow after the collapse of his ‘business empire’ is withering due to the poor rains received this season. Probably, he saved for his retirement in heydays but no one knows for sure.

Goddie was admitted at Gilgil mental hospital decades ago suffering from life-long mental illness. According to the hospital Superintendent Dr. Catherine Gitau, Goddie was released upon receiving treatment, only for him to return to the hospital soon after.

He was most likely rejected or chased away by his relatives. He went to the only home he knew, where he had friends and ‘family’ – patients and staff at Gilgil hospital.

The hospital cares for about 50 abandoned patients over a dozen of whom have stayed here for between 40 – 50 years without a single visit from a family member. This was the only place Goddie would call home.

Since he had been treated successfully, Goddie refused to ‘admit’ himself into the wards but rather picked a secure part of the vast hospital compound and built his own house and fenced it off.

He started his farming activities, slowly and painstakingly increasing his herd. Within no time, he was making good money selling his goats and farm produce in Gilgil town where he is well-known for his polished entrepreneurial skills.

Dr. Gitau said, "The staff of this hospital and the patients have lived very well withGoddie and he is well liked by most people. Our staff is usually his first customer before he takes his produce outside. He never bothers anyone here nor is he a danger to himself or the community”

She added “It is a pity that such an industrious Kenyan has spent most of his life in hospital yet he has proved beyond any doubt that people with mental illness can live a normal life if only the society can accept and support them"

The 50 abandoned patients are a big challenge to the management since this is the wrong environment for them, especially considering the age of most of them. Also no one comes to visit them or pay their bills. “It is however very strange that these abandoned patients suddenly get a family once they die. The relatives come claiming they want to bury the body of their kin” added Dr. Gitau.

Dr. Gitau said that the society should recognize that these are human beings who want to live with their families just like the rest of us. They want to be shown love and to share their love.

However, no one likes to being ostracized, more so by their loved ones. That is the reason Goddie returned to the only place he could find love and he flourished.

Psychiatric Disability Organization (PDO), a community based organization in Nakuru that advocates for rights of people with psychosocial disabilities and Gilgil mental hospital are working together to find a solution to the abandoned patients.

These patients, like Goddie, can contribute to nation building. Unfortunately, they may end up spending the rest their lives in the psychiatric wards since our society has rejected them, on account of their disability.

Goddie story brings alive the debate about the fate of mental health patients who continue to languish in hospital wards yet some of them can be reintegrated back to the society. These people can live a fulfilling and independent life with a little support from the rest of us.

However, our society seems not to be ready to accept these people back even after the doctors give them a clean bill of health for re-integration. The pervasive stigma for mental illness mean that you are doomed if you get sick.

Social workers and nurses who have escorted these patient backs to their family after treatment face a difficult task convincing relatives to accept their own. In some cases, they have been violently chased away and told “kwendeni huko na mtu wenu” (go away with your patient).

PDO and Gilgil hospital have started a program to enlist the support of the public in supporting the treatment and recovery of the abandoned patients. Chamas, church groups, NGOs, companies, private citizens are urged to visit the hospital and share their love with the patients.

You can also go a step further and pay NHIF for a patient at only Ksh 500 a month that will go a long way in meeting the cost of treatment and food for the patient.

The hospital and PDO are considering piloting a social integration and community living model. This has been successfully applied in other countries and the two institutions are looking for partners to support this initiative. This model does not violate Article 19 of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability (CRPD) by discouraging institutionalization. 

The Author is mental health and child rights advocate and the Founder/CEO of Psychiatric Disability Organization. He can be reached on: [email protected] Website: http://www.pdokenya.org/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Psychiatricdisability/