Baby Mada Update #1

This is Mada Update #1, taken again from Tracy Gill's blog that she wrote 3 days after Mada arrived to Hope Village.
--Leanne

Baby Madalitso update

Posted by hopevillage on July 26, 2012 at 5:55 AM

  

We took Madalitso to the hospital for a check up and after he had a blood test we found that he needed a blood transfusion to boost his red blood cell count.  He was admitted and we will be collecting him on Friday.

We had the opportunity of meeting with a malnutrition specialist who will help us put together a diet for Madalitso.

A few people have contacted me as they would like to help this baby but many are not able to help with the full amount so I have set up a just giving page for this young man.  If you would like to help him, please visit  http://www.justgiving.com/babyMadalitso any help you can give no matter how big or small will make a big difference to this young life.  If you would like to set up a small monthly amount, get in touch and I will send you a direct debit form.

What a wonderful day it will be when he is able to take his first steps!

Baby Madalitso

Almost 3 months ago a severely malnourished 16-month old baby was brought to Hope Village by his aunt and uncle.  He was barely 9 pounds.  His name is Madalitso, which means "Blessings" in Chechewa.  

Nearly 2 months ago we realized Madalitso (or "Mada" as we affectionately call him) could not survive the harsh village life until his weight gain was consistent and his strength improved and his body could fight off constant infections. So, we took him into our home. We have seen awesome improvement in him over the last 2 months, but know he still has a long way to go. 

I want to document his journey in our blog.  So this is the first Mada update.  I am copying and pasting the blog that Tracy Gill wrote for her own blog when Mada first came to Hope Village.

Pay close attention to the photos below. You won't believe Mada at 16 months old - a mere skeleton.  Also, take a look at the last photo, the one of his twin brother, Joseph.  He is healthy and almost twice the weight of Mada.  Joseph died just 2 days ago from what appears to be dehydration. A travesty, a heartbreak. 

--Leanne

In desperate need

Posted by hopevillage on July 23, 2012 at 2:25 PM

Today was a very emotional day.  Today I met a set of twins and Madalitso one of the twins broke my heart. Today I saw the worse case I have seen since being in Malawi.

It was as if I was seeing a baby from the TV when all those years ago we watched images of literally starving children from Ethiopia.  

This baby is one of a set of twins, he is 16 months old.  His mum died when he was a month old and he was given to his grandmother for her to look after him.  The caring of the baby fell mostly on a younger girl of 9 who also lived in the house.  The other twin went to live with his Aunt, but the Grandmother and the Aunt live quite far from each other so his Aunt didn't see Madalitso until she received a message that he was sick.  They brought him to us for help.  The pictures below will show the severity of the situation.

We have offered his Aunt a place to stay at Hope Village for a week so we can monitor his progress.  We really need to find a sponsor for this child, if you can help or know someone who can, please pass on this information or share this on your facebook page.

I was so overwhelmed when I met this child, I felt God's heart and had to go into a separate room while the tears flowed.  Please join with us in prayer and pray for his survival and for a sponsor.

Madalitso is the reason we help babies who have lost their Mums...this is why we help, so that they don't end up like this.

The above picture is of Madalitso and his twin brother, they are both 16 months old.  Neither child can walk or crawl.  Madalitso is sitting on his Aunt's knee.

This is Madalitso, he weighs just 9lb and after I weighed him I put a new born babies nappy on him.

This is his twin brother, he is double the weight of Madalitso.

VILLAGE LIFE

We work in one of the poorest districts in the already severely poor country of Malawi.   We work with local Malawians who have amazing testimonies of perseverance, courage, hope.  Best of all, we are living right in the middle of a village.  Although our home is very Western, with most modern conveniences and comforts we would enjoy in America, we can walk out our front door and find ourselves in the middle of Ntondeza 2 Village. 

View of our village from the road

Our neighbors have mud huts, grass rooftops (some of the luckier one have been able to add tin sheets to their roofs), no electricity, no running water. They cook their food over flames outside, they walk to the borehole to fill their buckets with water, they take cold sponge baths with no soap, they sleep on mats on dirt floors, they struggle to buy uniforms for their children to attend school  and to pay school fees … hence, too many here are uneducated. They dream of having enough money to buy luxuries … like soap, candles, cooking oil, shoes, clothes … or a blanket.  

At the borehole: a daily chore to collect the water for baths, cooking, drinking

Our friend Memory is cooking for us as at her house -- outside, over flames. 

When we are outside our home, we truly feel we have stepped back into the 1800s. Maybe earlier than that.  There are very few cars seen on the roads – which are mostly dirt.  Cows, goats and pigs wander lazily in the middle of the road, so drivers beware!  

I took this picture while stopped in our car, near our home.  
A typical Malawian traffic jam in Chikwawa:  cows!

Villagers walk slowly down the dirt roads, the women carrying everything on their head – from buckets of water to 50Kg bags of corn or rice, to heavy tree limbs used for firewood. 

Women and children carry everything on their heads. Buckets of water, 50Kg bags of corn or rice, groceries, wood, etc.

You’ll see young people lounging under a shady tree, since so many are unemployed, trying to catch a break when their motivation surges.  And the children play – always busy, making things, pushing homemade toy cars, climbing trees, picking fruit, waving. Always dirty, always in rags. Always smiling and waving.

  

The Hope Village Job Skills Training Center

Hope Village has an impressive training center / classroom – probably able to accommodate over 100 participants.  As part of the vision of Hope Village to help those who are vulnerable become “self-reliant”, a Job Skills Training program was launched just 2 months ago. 

Standing in the front of the big Hope Village Training Center: Don and Godwins are welcoming the students to the tailor training course

The timing was perfect for Don and his assistant Godwins to help launch this first training course, as they had just finished a farmers training program called “Farming God’s Way” back in March.  They took elements from that program and added their own twist for a “Business God’s Way” program in combination with a tailor-training course. 

With money donated by the ministry Annie’s Closet (more on this too … in a future blog!), we purchased sewing machines, hired a professional tailor, and held a 7-week full-time tailor training course that included business and financial modules for running an honest, profitable and charitable business in Malawi. 

The sewing machines are manual since most villagers 

do not have electricity in their homes. 

Chief Issoh is not only a chief, but a professional tailor as well. 

We hired him to teach the 7-week tailor course.

Amayi Jim is so happy to have the opportunity to learn a new skill.  

 7 weeks later, many beautiful clothes are hung in the classroom as evidence of a 
successful tailor training course.

Cecilia and Jim are studying for the final exam in the 

tailor training course.

 The final business exam: the students are pricing store items and calculating profit margins.

The first class of 9 students graduated 3 weeks ago. I was just as proud of Don and Godwins as I was for those who had persevered and graduated. And so thankful that Hope Village management shared this same vision, and with complete confidence and trust, gave Don the freedom and blessing to make it happen.

Graduation Day! The students proudly entered the room in newly sewn skirts and shirts, looking sharp and ready, we hope, to take the next step.

Leanne's Work

I am busy from dawn until dusk, so let me reassure you that I’ve not changed! I can’t tell you why I’m so busy, just that I am. It’s my curse, I know. I find stuff to do and it keeps me running in circles.  I collapse in bed at night, and wonder “what did I really accomplish today?”  And then I remember my Malawi friends Sally and Retha teaching me that Malawi is all about relationships. And I realize “OK, I did that today. I had a relationship encounter today. No wait, I had 10 relationship encounters!”  Suffice it to say, I have content for many blogs on these many encounters (some, clearly divine appointments).

One of those such encounters: Here I am with 2 blind men Madalitso on the left, Waters on the right) who now call me "Momma". A long story for another blog, but we're helping them complete secondary school, at 31 years old!

In a nutshell, I am an assistant to anyone in need!  I truly love Hope Village, the management, the staff, the vision, the possibilities … and eagerly help in a variety of projects.  I assist Tracy with her baby program (organizing baby formula distribution to at-risk babies when a mother has died or cannot nurse due to illness);

My heart project - Madalitso came to Hope Village at 16 months old and just 9lbs (pictured above), severely malnourished. Tracy took this picture while tears were welling up. "In all the years I've been here, I've never seen a baby in this shape," she confided, knowing all-to-well he was near death.

 Taking Mada into our home has truly been one of those "divine appointments". If this is the only reason we came to Malawi, I feel God's purpose was fulfilled.  (3 months later, Mada has gained nearly 4 pounds and is learning to stand. God is so good. I'll write more about him soon.)

I also enjoying helping the day care staff that Tracy manages in a variety of projects (the daily after-school program at Hope Village for orphans and the most vulnerable children).  Currently, I’m in the middle of helping to organize the loft – a storage area with many boxes of day care supplies, toys and mostly, donated clothes.  I LOVE this organizing project … especially because I see Hope Village blessing so many with these clothes almost daily. If a child is seen in rags, he/she is pulled into the office and outfitted with a new pair of shorts or shirt that same day.   

Here, I'm explaining what a taco is made of to all of the day care children. 

This was an international food themed program to teach the children about other countries.

I’m most proud to say that I support Don and Annie in their ministries … by way of doing their laundry and cooking their meals.  I need to keep them energized and focused because they want to accomplish so much every day!  They keep me hopping, and I have to admit, it's so hard to keep up.

I tag along when Don goes out into the village for a medical clinic or some other "important business." My role? I'm not sure, but I always end up singing silly songs and doing silly dances for the children. I always think they'll join in, but I must be too funny or too strange.Annie is finally not as embarrassed by this 51 year-old white lady as she was in the beginning.