miriam
Miriam and Moise arrived last year at Sabuli Children’s Center at 4 months of age (although they appeared to be much younger due to very poor health). Their mother passed away from illness––she had not received the necessary medical care to save her life.
Miriam and Moise’s desperate and grieving young father had no way to feed his newborns. He already had 4 other small children at home to now care for by himself. He had no milk to feed these babies, so he was fed them a diet of tea. Baby formula is not readily available––and when it can be found it is far too expensive.
When a mother dies, desperate fathers and relatives often feed their newborns a diet of sugar water or tea. The result is severe malnutrition in a short period of time, which Sabuli sees far too often.
This young father knew his children would not survive without help, so he traveled a long way to bring them to Sabuli Children’s Center. They arrived dehydrated, malnourished––suffering from anemia and with many skin sores. In addition, Moise contracted malaria and was hospitalized.
After a valiant effort by the mothers at the Children’s Center, the twins are becoming healthier. Here they will be embraced, nourished and deeply loved. Please keep these two in your prayers and thoughts for a fast and complete recovery.
THE HOPE
In some situations like this, Sabuli’s hope is to bring the babies to good health––to a point where they no longer need milk on a regular basis, and to have them reunite with their father and/or extended family. Each situation is evaluated carefully and prayerfully.
FUTURE PLANS
Sabuli is working on a long-term solution to the tragic and recurring problem of young women dying in childbirth from PPH (Post-Partum Hemorrhage). This is the leading cause of maternal death. There is no easy solution for this currently in Congo and most developing countries. When a young mother dies in childbirth, often a family falls apart. Not only does the newborn lose their mother, but there are often other children at home who are then at risk of becoming orphans.
HELP IS ON THE WAY - UBT
Along with Congolese physicians, Dr. Ngossa and Dr. Kangawa, and USA physician Dr. Sam Choi, Sabuli is bringing a UBT solution (Uterine Balloon Tamponade) to her homeland. This procedure, developed by physicians at Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital, will have a significant positive impact on this tragic problem. A USA team traveled to Congo during the summer of 2018 and introduced this procedure and trained health care workers at Gemena’s General Hospital. Over 100 nurses, doctors, midwives and medical students attended the training and received the 300 UBT kits that were assembled and brought from the USA. Kits were distributed via motorcycle to area villages and mother’s lives are already being saved.
We’ll discuss this and other good news in future blogs on this site.