Kanga be ti mo. (literally, "Close your heart" , i.e. suppress your feelings).

      A culturally eloquent version of  Hear no Evil, See no Evil, the modification of which captures the principal of hierarchical deference found in CAR, and in my NGO.  On the wall in the CAG office (they provide HIV and TB meds for both inpatient and outpatients, they are super amazing folks) is a painting, a gift from a grateful client.  It reads, "The 4 secrets of happiness"  "Hear nothing" "See nothing" "Say nothing" and the added 4th, "which authority should you recognize."  While profoundly Central African, this attitude is not endemic to my NGO globally, perhaps only in this country, says the visiting expert consultant.  My boss, who has worked for this NGO across the globe, says no it's like this everywhere.

     I walk into the surprisingly underfilled PICU this morning.  A child is in cardiorespiratory arrest.  He is not cold yet.  I know nothing about him.  Ambu bag is broken.  There is no accessible replacement.  Glucose is high, nothing to fix there.  We do some pointless chest compressions then call it.  Turns out he was a septic marasmic kid (malaria, too, it's that time of year, but I don't think that's what got him.)  In usual fashion Mom stoically wraps up the boy and is out the door in under a minute.  The health assistant expresses a wish that God help her to "kanga be" which literally means to close her heart, figuratively meaning suppress her feelings.  Why is the ward so empty?  Loads of deaths in the last few days while I was out for an asymptomatic-COVID isolation vacation.  I guess that's one way to open up beds.

     The probably leukemic girl has died.  On the plus side: I discharged the sickler after 45 days in the hospital!  He likely has several incurable (here) infections and at 12 years has far outlived sickle cell life expectancy here; but he and his parents have desperately wanted him to get home, he is stable on oral medications, and I have nothing much to add anyway.  Prognosis is "guarded" as we say (preferred French term here is "reserved") but I will count this one as a win.