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An unusual tragedy has stalked seven orphaned siblings at a village in Bondo.

Mr Stephen Oduor (second from right) with his relatives who are all blind. The children belong to the sister and they are also blind. Picture by Baraka Karama

The four brothers and three sisters have systematically lost their sight over the years. One of the brothers is a graduate of Moi University.

The problem began in the 1960s with their father, who would complain of seeing darkness in broad daylight. Residents of the remote Kanyarieko village believe the family of the late Joshua Jarona, who was a respected teacher, is cursed.

The siblings are today fighting a lonely battle of misery and hopelessness, having been shunned by the villagers. Even the children of the three sisters, who had got married, have also gone blind.

The family members tell the same story of how it started with a minor problem, which alarmingly grew into gradual loss of sight.

Two of the sisters have been kicked out of their matrimonial homes after developing the problem.

The siblings have to fend for themselves and perform household chores. Villagers are reluctant to help them because they might infect them as well.

The siblings say they have visited almost every hospital in search of a cure in vain. Ken Omondi, 26, says they visited Sabatia Eye Hospital in Vihiga District numerous times but this did not restore their sight. They also tried herbalists, but got the same disappointing results.

Stephen Oduor, 31, the university graduate, who is the first born, says: "I cannot explain this misfortune. It seems we have lost the battle to regain our sight."

The late Jarona had to abandon his profession after he went blind. But his children are grateful that he made an effort to give them good education even as the mystery blindness began hovering over the homestead.

Omondi picks up from here: "Oduor and I underwent an eye operation at Sabatia Hospital but darkness still engulfed us."

Their sister, Eunice Atieno, 29, is also languishing from this cruel fate.

Medical experts attribute the problem to deficiency of Vitamin A remains the major cause, having affected 600,000 minors worldwide.

World Health Organisation (WHO) says a disease called retinitis pigmentosa has also been known to cause blindness. Those infected experience difficulty in night vision. The problem worsens until they become completely blind. Cataract, adds WHO, is the leading cause of visual impairment. Other causes of blindness are diabetes, glaucoma, macular degeneration, and accidents or inheritance.

The WHO journal says there were at least 45 million blind people in the world in 1990, and this was expected to hit 76 million by 2020.

Glaucoma, which mostly affects old people, destroys various nerves due to excess pressure exerted by the fluids of the eye. Glaucoma can be cured completely if detected early.

But for Jarona’s once successful family, it is a harsh reality as they now huddle together for solace. They have mastered each other’s footsteps and those of their diminishing number of visitors.

Their property has since been stolen, and a house that Jarona, who died in 2003, once furnished so admirably, is rundown.

"People have taken advantage of our helplessness to steal our household goods, livestock and crops," says Oduor.

The family has also been haunted by successive deaths. "Our mother died in 1998, followed by our father five years later. Our sister, who was the first child to go blind, is also dead. The two children she left behind have since gone blind," he says.

Oduor, a graduate of environmental studies, was initially forced to abandon his career to help his family before he fell victim to the same problem.

"Some people mock us that we are the perfect example of blind men (and women) leading each other," he says. He adds: "We are forced to hold each others’ hands as we walk in the village," says Oduor.

Their livelihood now depends on well-wishers and a few less frightened villagers, but who cut some of their trees for firewood.

Oduor, who taught at Majiwa Primary School as he awaited admission to the university, can only think wistfully about how his future would have turned out. She started losing sight when she gave birth to her first-born daughter in her second year of marriage.

"When I went completely blind, my in-laws kicked me out since they viewed me as a burden and an embarrassment ," she adds.

Akelo nyar Kager, jaluo@jaluo.com

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