During my class seven exams, I scored 310 marks. I dream of going back to class and finishing my studies
Sometime in May last year Rael Chacha, 16, got a strange feeling in her breasts.
Then her breasts started enlarging and turned her life upside down.
At first her parents and teachers thought she was pregnant.
A check-up at a nearby clinic, however, showed she was not pregnant but her breasts were enlarging.
Chacha was diagnosed with gigantomastia, a rare condition that causes excessive growth of the female breasts.
The family lives in Mugwera village in Kuria West.
Chacha says the condition has made her a laughing stock among her peers.
She has been forced to drop out of school, cannot do her chores, is in constant pain and has trouble sleeping. She says her neck and chest hurt.
Chacha was a pupil at Kengariso Primary School. She was to sit her KCPE exam early this year but could not.
She was unable to register for the 2021 KCPE exam because of being out of class for so many months.
“During my class seven exams, I scored 310 marks. I dream of going back to class and finishing my studies," Chacha says.
Chacha’s mother, Anna Muruga, says they took her to various hospitals in Migori, but were referred to Kisii Referral Hospital.
Due to financial constraints, however, the family decided to seek the services of a traditional healer. Six months later Chacha had not recovered.
Muruga says they returned to Kisii Referral Hospital early this month after the girl's teachers intervened.
The hospital said she needed to undergo breast reduction surgery and asked for Sh150,000.
Muruga says the hospital declined their NHIF card, but did not explain why, leaving them with no option but to pay out of pocket.
But, says Chacha's father Thomas Nyabite, they do not have the money.
Nyabite says the family organised a harambee early this month, but only raised a quarter of the money.
The family is calling on well-wishers to help them raise the fee.
Kengariso Primary School head teacher Wycliffe Wankio says early last year female teachers went to his office expressing concern about the girl's condition.
The school called the parents and advised them to have the girl examined.
When they found out the girl was not pregnant they sought to establish whether the condition was hereditary, Wankio says. It wasn't.
Wankio says they advised the parents to seek specialised treatment but were shocked to learn they had been going to a traditional healer for six months.
Wankio says he encouraged the parents to seek proper medical attention.
He says Chacha was being ridiculed by her peers so the school saw it fit for her to be treated before being allowed to continue with her studies.
Chacha's parents can be reached on +254-791-041-323 or +254-790-954-608.
Edited by Josephine M. Mayuya