Mysterious & Devastating: Mysterious & Devastating

September 13, 2014 - Lapul - Ocwida village - Nodding Syndrome patient Okot David, 18, sits outside his hut as a younger brother and sister wait for another sibling, so that they can walk to their school district some three hours away. The school season is about to begin so they will stay at the family's other home which is closer to the school. Their brother represents a severe case of Nodding Syndrome; he has been ill with it since 2003. Okot is one of seven children and the only one with the illness. He's tied to his living quarters 24-hours a day, seven days a week. At an advanced stage the syndrome causes its victims to wander aimlessly, hence families will tie the person with a rope or chain to prevent them from getting lost, injured or in the case of a young woman raped.
Mysterious & Devastating, Pader District, Uganda

September 13, 2014 - Lapul - Ocwida village - Nodding Syndrome patient Okot David, 18, sits outside his hut as a younger brother and sister wait for another sibling, so that they can walk to their school district some three hours away. The school season is about to begin so they will stay at the family's other home which is closer to the school. Their brother represents a severe case of Nodding Syndrome; he has been ill with it since 2003. Okot is one of seven children and the only one with the illness. He's tied to his living quarters 24-hours a day, seven days a week. At an advanced stage the syndrome causes its victims to wander aimlessly, hence families will tie the person with a rope or chain to prevent them from getting lost, injured or in the case of a young woman raped.