We’re in Bechati and Jeff, a medic who has an interest in traditional healing methods, decides to visit the local healer. He was originally supposed to live with the healer for a week, but his plans were (literally) derailed by the motorcycle accident, so a short visit will have to suffice.

I decide to join him and another volunteer because we’ve been learning in our focus groups and through encounters that healers are usually the first choice of people when they are hurt or ill, regardless of the cause. We need to integrate traditional approaches with our programs if we want them to be successful, and interviewing the healers is an important step in this process.

A young boy leads us to the healer’s hut, on the perimeter of the village. We’ve learned that many healers are modernizing their approach, almost like naturopaths, and will refer patients to hospitals if necessary. He arrives and is happy to speak with us.

He tells us at the start that he believes in witchcraft and curses, and that he receives visions in his sleep that tell him which potions will best treat conditions such as Malaria and hernias (two of the most common ailments). He owns a book by Oxfam, When There Are No Doctors, but appears to have skipped the chapters that were written to help deter the widespread belief in witchcraft.

Jeff asks if the healer will prepare us a potion for the top two ailments – Malaria and hernias. He quickly agrees and begins to prepare the concoction: boiling some bark; cutting it up in a glass of water; and adding a few other things.

I gladly take a sip – it tastes like wheat grass and isn’t all that bad. Jeff drinks an entire glass in one gulp, sits for a few minutes thinking about what he’s just done, then asks if there are any potential side effects. The healer’s response? “Yes, there are.”

I decide against showing him my swollen foot since we’ll soon be on our way home. At least now I don’t have to worry about a hernia…?!

Tags: Africa, Cameroon, healer, hernia, malaria, medicine man, Obakki Foundation, Treana Peake, witchcraft

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