Today it was a big day in Amecet!!! We said goodbye to three children!! Simon, Robinah (one of our nurses) and me travelled to the village to bring three children back to their relatives. Because of Covid 19, there is still no public transport and also the motor taxis are not allowed to operate. Last week, Simon went to the three families to check on them, some of them we can't even reach by mobile phone. We always try to get a mobile number, sometimes a neighbour or relative, but this time we had not all the contacts, so Simon went to visit the, last week. They were all ready to receive them back and we were going to do that today. Simon had asked them to come to certain places near their home, because the time he visited them, the whole neighbourhood gathered, we didn't want that, because gatherings are still not allowed. So we left at 8.30 am, with the face masks, on our way to the village.
The first child we brought back was Patricia, Patricia lost her mum after she was born, because of over bleeding. Patricia has 6 older brothers and sisters.
The farther and her eldest sister came to pick her from the spot we agreed to meet. Patricia is 3 months old now, She came to Amecet when she was 1 day old. She is doing well and the family was happy to receive her. There is one thing we could not do, on the picture at the right you can see that there are two of the fingers joined together, this is on both hands. She needs a simple operation to separate the fingers. We couldn't organize that because of the lack of public transport. We gave the family the letter of the doctor and they will go to a hospital nearby them.
The next child we brought back to his relatives was Daniel... For those who read our blogs regularly, he is known. He came in August 2019 to Amecet, he was 10 months old, very weak, his weight was just over 6 kg. We took him for tests and he was HIV+ and he had TB. I really feared for his life. His mum had a mental problem and she ran away, leaving Daniel with the grandmother. See on the second picture how Daniel is doing now. There are only 10 months between those two pictures! He is 19 months old, he is walking, dancing, singing and he is so cute!!! He finished his anti TB medicines and is only on ARV's, which is now essential for his life.
We agreed to meet the grandmother at the nearby health centre, her neighbour came with her, to help. The grandmother can't read and we had to explain the medicines to her. Daniel needs his medicines every day, at 7 am and at 7 pm. So after I explained them, Simon let her do it, to see if she understood. The neighbour was there too and he will keep an eye on it as well. She did well, then we handed Daniel to her and he cried.... When a child is older, it is more difficult for them, as they are used to us so much. There was another lady who took him and the neighbour played with him with one of the toys we gave him. Every child who is resettled gets a package with some clothes, toy, mosquito net, some food and a drinking cup. When we drove away, Daniel was quiet, but he was looking at us and following us with his eyes. We are a bit worried about him, his place is at home, with his his grandmother, but the medicines are a challenge!! We will go back to check on him and he has to come to Soroti for new medicines and a blood test in August.
The last baby we brought home was baby Rose. She was only some hours old when they brought her to Amecet. The mother was very young, only 17 years old, Rose was her first baby. She died in the hospital after a caesarean. Rose stayed almost 3 months with us. The grandmother is going to care for her And Rose really smiled to her when we laid her in her arms.
We drove back and arrived at around 2 pm in Amecet. During the 4,5 hours driving in the villages, we only saw 1 car (parked). For the rest only bicycles, motorcycles and many people just walking... with bags or baskets on their head, with children, sometimes with a goat on a robe. Life is not much changed by Corona in the village. People sit together, walk together, if nothing has changed.... We didn't see face masks, which is mandatory in Uganda. Simon, Robinah and I were wearing face masks, I felt a bit funny about it (but we did keep them on), we were the only ones... There was even a market, like normal, people gathered together if there was no Corona on earth. It felt a bit double, good to see that there is still "normal" life, but at the other side, there is the reality of Corona and I pray it will never reach the villages...…..
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it must be a great day. It's so special to see the 2 pictures from Daniel. what a difference!!
Keep up the good work Amecet 'clan'