Number 12745

Dawenke on the first day

 Four weeks ago, Jn Louis, Dawenke made a memorable entrance into the Mamba program by throwing up.  He also came in dehydrated.  Just shy of a year his first birthday was coming up in a couple of weeks.  He couldn't walk, couldn't crawl, and could barely sit without looking like he was going to topple over at any moment.  Did I mention he weighed only 11 pounds?  There were probably several reasons why he wasn't getting enough food.  Maybe he didn't have any parents and was living with a different family member or neighbor.  Perhaps his parents, mom, or dad didn't have a job, which meant no money to buy food.  Whatever the reason he was a sick little boy.  I'd like to say this was a rare occurrence, but it's becoming all too familiar.   I remember thinking this was the third one year old that week that had come in weighing almost the exact same weight.  Life is not easy here for many.  If you have no money and you have to choose between clothes and food, you obviously would choose food..so many kids run around with little next to nothing.
Sometimes when the kids come back for their weekly checkup it's easy to see their weight gain.  The moms (sometimes a dad) do a good job feeding their kid.  They give them the peanut butter eight times a day just as we tell them to and it makes a huge difference.  Other times, the kids are a little bit slower to respond.  When the kids weigh next to nothing it's easier to see a difference when they come back each week.

A much happier little baby

Today marked one month since Dawenke had been in the Mamba program.  I hardly recognized him.  His face had filled out.  He was sitting on his own.  His belly had gotten bigger.  He was smiling.  What a huge, huge, difference a couple of weeks made.  He still has a little over a kilo to go before he graduates the program, but he is doing great for where he's at.  Thanks to everyone that helps support the  Mamba program!

Dawenke at week 4