What about Galula's Sisters?

Gulula is 6 years old and has two brothers and two sisters. The innocent little girls were playing together in their home last week when, in a moment, their lives were altered forever. They found a grenade in their yard, and thinking it was a toy, they played with it until the grenade exploded in their faces. The two oldest have severely burned their faces and arms; Gulula’s eyes were burned, and the scars on her face will change her look forever. Although the mother showed up immediately with all three girls, by the time we were able to visit them at HEAL Africa this week, only Gulula remained at the hospital.


Between two hospital cots in the crowded post-operating room, she sat shyly hugging her knees, motionless. The stiff, fluid-hardened gauze clung to her face like a cast, rendering her expressionless. Many attempts at connecting with her finally earned me her little, scarred hand, which she allowed me to hold as we talked with her mother. Annifa, the HEALing Arts manager, asked the woman where the Gulula’s sisters were. The mother looked down, ashamed, and whispered in a sunken voice, “We can only afford to pay for one of our daughters to have medical treatment, so we had to send the older girls home.” We asked what the rates were, at which she responded the insurmountable amount per girl, $5 per day. Stunned, I thought about what $5 per day meant to most of us in the developed world and my heart was suffocated even further. I looked into Gulula’s soft eyes through the blood-stained gauze and almost wept before them in the crowded, smelly room full of suffering victims.


Gently, we explained to the mother that HEALing Arts had an Emergency Fund that would pay the cost for her other two girls to receive treatment for their burns immediately. I also explained that HEALing Arts has a school where her girls can continue studying as they heal, and that she can learn to sew at our Sewing and Weaving School. The mother could hardly believe all we were telling her, but her smile was big and her handshake was strong as we said good-bye.