Uganda: Susan begins to walk again

A 15-year-old Christian girl who lost the use of her legs after her father locked her in a room for six months for leaving Islam has begun to take tentative steps.

Susan Ithungu from Kasese in western Uganda was hospitalised for over a year after police rescued her from her father, who had given her hardly any food or water. He was arrested shortly afterwards but quickly released.

Susan gave her life to Christ in March 2010, prompting her father to threaten to slaughter her publicly with a knife. She and her younger brother, Mbusa, lived alone with their father, who was divorced from their mother.

Susan has now begun to walk with support. She cannot squat or stand upright because she lay on one side for such a long time, besides suffering a bout of malaria.

After her ordeal became public, several individuals and ministries came forward to help her. "Well-wishers have been paying the rent and buying me food and clothing," said Susan, who added that she has forgiven her father. Though she has had to drop out of school, she said she hopes to return this year. 

Susan now lives in a rented house in an undisclosed location. A member of the Bwera Full Gospel Church in Kasese, Biira Dreda, who has four children of her own, looked after Susan while she was hospitalised.  "It is now becoming difficult to meet the school fees for my own children," Dreda said. "I am praying to get some funds to start an income generating project."

"I thank all those who have supported me"

"I thank all those who have continually supported me spiritually, materially and even morally," said Susan. "I am also thankful to Biira Dreda, who stood by me in the hospital. She is still with me when none of my family members has come to see me. I now take Dreda as my mother because of her care and love. My own people have abandoned me."

Jacob Mukobi, who works with Ugandan police as a child protection volunteer, said that Susan's father is not ready to take her back. "A neighbour heard Susan's father saying that she will be accepted back to the family only if she recants the Christian faith and rejoins Islam," he said.

When Mukobi asked Susan's father about his mistreatment of her, he said only that he was upset by her conversion to Christianity. "I do not like my daughter calling herself Susan and leaving her Muslim name, Aisha," he said.

Source: Compass Direct News

Please pray:

1. Give thanks that Susan is beginning to walk again. Pray that she will make a complete recovery and will continue to trust in Him for her daily needs
   
   
2. Ask God to change the heart of Susan's father and bring him to faith in Christ. Pray that the family will be reunited
   
   
3. Thank the Lord for bringing Biira Dreda into Susan's life. Ask God to meet her material and spiritual needs so she can provide for her family.