In what sounds surreal, Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) on 18th November, 2022 successfully managed to re-unite a patient with her family, after decades of tirelesslystruggling to find her. In the year 1991, 16-year-old Alice Kalekye Mui left her home to stay with a friend, never be seen again by her family. With time, she developed mental health problems and ended up living in the streets of Mwingi town alone. Due to lack of basic needs, her health continuously deteriorated.
After tirelessly searching for Alice in many parts of the country, the family concluded she had died and gave up looking for her. Sister Mary Musembi, the founder of Mercy Servants of the Poor Institution who has been working with KNH to give home to abandonedand homeless patients, discovered her in the streets of Mwingi.
“Due to my passion in helping the poor, I noticed a homeless lady who lacked food and shelter. I used to take food to her while living in the streets until one day she was involved in an accident. On 22nd July, 2022 I got a call from some Mwingi residents saying that Alice was involved in a severe road traffic accident (RTA),” said Sister Musembi.
“I quickly rushed to the scene of the accident and took her to Matuu Level 4 Hospital whereby she was given first aid and referred to KNH for specialized health care on 23rd July, 2022 after being given an ambulance which enabled us get to the hospital on time,” she added. At KNH, Alice was admitted at ward 1D where a multidisciplinary team consisting of doctors, nurses, psychologists, palliative and wound care specialists among others worked tirelessly round the clock to ensure she recovered.
“Due to the mental instability she suffers from, she never remembered anything about her home while recovering,” said Ms. Catherine Njoroge, a Medical Social Worker and Clinical Psychologist at Ward 1D. “On 18th August, 2022, the Social Work Unit wrote a letter to National Registration Bureau requesting for her finger prints to be taken to establish her identity and from this we were able to know her name, the parent and the area she originates from,” added Ms. Njoroge. After this, the team managed to reach the area chief of Nuu Location who informed the family of their child being alive at KNH. The family was shocked beyond belief and they came to KNH on 3rd November, 2022 to confirm if it was their daughter. “I was more than delighted to positively identify my daughter,” said a smiling Mr. Mui Kivivu, Ms. Kalekye’s father.
“Despite the number of years gone, I am glad she is alive,” he added. “I look forward to supporting them as they get to settle together back at home,” said Mr. David Mulungwa, a distant cousin to Ms. Kalekye who came to help her father with the discharge process.
As Ms. Kalekye walked away from the wards, she was so excited to finally get home and meet her other family members. “I am so excited to be going home after such a while,” she told Newsline.The happy family eventually settled in the van to head home. Ms. Kalekye is now 47-years old. In order to avoid such cases, Ms. Njoroge encourages parents to be on look out for children during adolescence stage as thisis the time most of them start to develop symptoms of mental health challenges.