They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky- Disease

When people think of Africa they think of death, lack of food, scary animals, and AIDs. However, not very many people think of the other diseases that we don’t get or have to worry about they many people in Africa die from because they don’t have the technology or resources to cure or prevent these diseases. For instance, in the US we don’t have to worry about Yellow Fever. However, in Africa, especially in Sudan in the remote villages, they do. In the book The Poured Fire on Us From the Sky during the journey to the “safe camp” one of the characters meets a man name Monyde. During the Journey he got sick, “They said it was yellow fever. Kuany did everything he could to help Monyde but he died in only two days.” (84) Here in the US we don’t have to worry about things like yellow fever. However, in Sudan in the villages they don’t have the medicine to get rid of the diseases especially when they are going through the desert going from one village to another. Another issue was when the UN tried to come and help the people in the camps to get them food and supplies. However, “Un made boys more likely to sicken and die from yellow fever.” (90) The boys weren’t used to the food and ingredients in the food that they were being given and ended up getting sick with no way to cure them. A lot of the boys got sick and went crazy because they were thinking about their home and family. They have no time to grieve or get over anything they are just told to suck it up and keep moving. In the US we have major loses and we usually have time to get over it. The things they saw and see almost every day are so horrid. They see both their family and friends and people they don’t know be burned alive, or shot dead, or drowned, or their friends that they were just talking to minutes earlier drop dead next to them while walking. They have no time to take any of it in and think about everything they have to get over it within seconds and keep moving. This killed a lot of kids from getting sick and not wanting to fight and move on. Disease is a daily struggle for the people in Sudan that are fighting for their lives. They have to worry about things that the people in the US never have to.