The journey over was our best yet. The Brussels Airlines planes had plenty of spaces so we could stretch out a bit. Lack of passengers meant a very short queue at Rwandan Immigrations and our luggage was first off the carousel...awesome!
Uganda welcomed us with an afternoon of rain and a power cut that lasted well into the evening. Never mind, the welcome from the staff more than made up for it.
We did a tour to meet the new additions as well as the old ones.
It is hard to show just how small Claudette is. She is 900grams and was born very suddenly at 6 months of gestation. The Grandmother wrapped her to her chest and rushed her round. She kept her very warm. Such a small baby can get cold very quickly. The biro at the back gives some indication of her size. The suit she is wearing is designed for premature babies and you can see how big that is on her.
The newest and smallest baby on site is matched by Rosie's newest and smallest desk on site. The laptop is attached to the couch leg so it can't be stolen. All very space efficient!
Benson and Naboth, pictured above, were twins that had been resettled to family far in the mountains. It was so far that it was not feasible to bring them to Community Support days for checks. Latterly, the family was given a weight record sheet and asked to attend their local health centre for weighing and bring the sheet back after 3 months. Winniefred saw the sheet and was appalled. At 2 years of age their weight had steadily decreased from 12 kilos to 6 kilos in just 3 months. The Medical Centre said the boys must be near death. The family was told to bring them straight in. Actually they were not too thin. The family had not taken them for weight checks and had filled the form in themselves. They should have found out that the numbers were supposed to increase not decrease!!
However the boys seemed very miserable. It was decided to remove the children from that Aunt and find another solution. They rejoined Angels room where they had been before. The tragic thing is that the boys have not progressed at all. When they left us they were standing and almost walking independently...they are still at that stage. They left us babbling but came in silent. The medical diagnosis? Deep unhappiness. How sad. Other relatives have been found but it does mean that the boys will have to be separated, which we had wanted to avoid. They will not be far from each other and the family members do meet together. First, we will nurture them for a while.
Joanne is another sad case. She is 4 years old and in the Nutritional Rehabilitation Unit. Her body is very swollen and she could hardly open her eyes. You can see indentations on her legs where the material that had attached her to her mother's back had pressed into them. This is a serious form of malnutrition called kwashiorkor. The swelling masks the reality of the condition so parents fail to appreciate what is happening.
Lastly, a question from Leonard that I could not answer.....
Can anyone recognise this herb?
My best attempt is bee balm. We don't want to eat it until we are sure it is edible!
Answers please to mikeandsue.hughes@gmail.com.
