Another baby came to Hope Village last week after his mommy died when he was just 6 weeks old. (This is the 7th baby in 2 months and the 6th one because of the mother's death.)
And just when I least expected it, God handed us another baby sponsor on the same day. Her name is Kaylynn from Florence, Oregon and she is 12 years old. Her father Tom sent me a message today looking for confirmation on this baby sponsorship, saying, “Kaylynn is so excited, she feels like she adopted a baby or something!” So, this blog is for Kaylynn.
Dear Kaylynn, I want you to meet your new baby, Grem. Look at his big eyes! Annie and I both squeezed him and cuddled him and nearly fought over him. He is one of the cutest babies we have been lucky enough to hold at Hope Village.
Grem’s grandparents brought him to Hope Village last week and told us an inspiring story of sacrifice. His mom became ill with a “mysterious” illness and after 6 days in the hospital, she died. They said Grem laid next to her on her small bed and was able to nurse and be close to his mom until her last day.
These are the grandparents:
Grem doesn’t have a father because he “ran away”. (That’s the term used here in Malawi when a man deserts his family). Grem was the only child of his young 19-year old mother. He will now live with his grandparents and their youngest child, a 12-year old girl (Grem’s aunt).
Annie enjoyed dressing Grem in these new clothes.
We found out that Grem’s family loves him so much, they are willing to sacrifice just about everything to keep him fed. Luckily, they met someone at a clinic who told them about our baby program at Hope Village, since they'd run out of money and had enough milk for just one more bottle.
Baby formula costs 6,000 Malawian Kwacha each week to feed a baby. Most Malawians who live in the village only earn about 2,000 Kwacha each week (this is the equivalent of $5.). As you can see, it’s nearly impossible for most villagers to feed a newborn in the event that it does not receive breast milk.
Baby Grem's belly was a sign of love and sacrifice!
The grandparents told me they bought formula for Grem the last 3 weeks since his mom died. They’d already told me they were farmers who grew cotton and maize (corn). I know the village where they live and the village lifestyle they have. I know they would not have any extra money for baby formula. “How did you manage to buy the milk to feed Grem?” I asked. “Mavuto,” (with many troubles) the grandfather said.
He said they worked ganyu (or piecework, day labor) every day, 7 days a week. They only took a break for church on Sunday, and then went back out into the fields for work. Their 12 year old worked with them as well, after school and on the weekends.
To stretch their money, they also stopped buying food for themselves. They skipped meals and were down to one meal a day. Some days they ate nothing. One week, the only food the 12 year old had was the porridge the government gives to the young children at the primary school (elementary school age).
The day I met with them, they’d walked 4 hours to get to Hope Village. And then they walked 4 hours back home. They will do this each week to collect his baby milk! Thanks to you and your parents Kaylynn, Grem will receive enough baby milk to put more weight on his little body, to keep him healthy, to feed his heart and his brain.
God willing, he will grow to know the love of God because your family cared enough about him to sacrifice just a little to keep him fed.
Just as his grandparents did before you.
Just as Jesus did before them.
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