“The Lye Programme Saved My Life”

“On my first day at secondary school, my classmates and I had a party. I remember feeling so thirsty once I got home. My mum had bought lye for making soap and selling it at the markets. I mistook it for water and drank it.” 

 For a full year after her accident, Aisha had to be fed by her mother from a bottle. Then they heard about EMERGENCY’s Surgical Centre and our programme here for those that have ingested lye. 

“The Lye Programme saved my life. Thanks to the gastrostomy, I can inject food directly to my stomach through a syringe. For the last seven years I haven’t been able to swallow a drop of water, but thanks to the operation, I can at least manage my disability.

In spite of what she has been through, Aisha has managed to lead a normal life, get married and have a child. She also decided to help victims like herself, by joining EMERGENCY’s group of health promoters in Goderich. Every day, Aisha and her colleagues teach children who, like her, have accidentally ingested lye, to eat again. She explains to families the dangers of swallowing this corrosive substance, shares her own story and, through her own example, gives courage to people who have gone through the same.

The activities at the Surgical Centre in Goderich are funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation