This afternoon a very small malnourished baby was brought to the Child Center. We did not have any interpreters because the Child Center is not officially open in the afternoons. Mr. Iddrisu was in town paying the taxes and Nazo had gone home for the day. They might not have been much help anyway because the people who brought the baby were of the Konkomba tribe which is a different tribe than Nazo and Mr. Iddrisu. It was obvious the old lady who was carrying the baby did not speak anything except Konkomba. Fortunately the man spoke very good broken English. We think he understood most of what we were telling him; of course we did lots of hand motions and broke everything down into the simplest English. The baby was 4 months old and only weighed 6 pound 6 ounces. We could see every rib and back bone. He had no buttock to speak of. They came with a letter from the medical assistant at Yendi Hospital. He said the mother was critically ill, she had been sick for some time and the caregiver of the baby needed help feeding the child. After a lot of digging we found out that the baby was born by C-section around 7 months because the mother was sick and her whole body was swollen. She stayed in the hospital for a while and then went back to her village. She never really got any stronger and after a couple months they brought her back to the hospital. No one knows exactly what is wrong with the woman but she has never breastfed the baby. We also found out that the old lady who was caring for the baby is the rival of the sick woman. They are in a polygamist relationship. She was not mixing the formula correctly and a can that should have only lasted 3 or 4 days was lasting 1 ½ weeks. Basically the baby was only getting enough formula to stay alive but not thrive. Steve mixed up some formula and fed the baby so they would know exactly how to do it. When they got ready to leave they were very pleased when they found out there was no charge and they could come back twice a week to get more formula free! Life is good! Thank you for your help feeding the children.
Steve contacted one of the formula distributors yesterday and he was very helpful. After making several calls he found some formula in a warehouse in Kumasi. Steve went to the bank and made a money transfer. The formula is supposed to be sent to Tamale tomorrow. We will be in Tamale tomorrow on business so we hope to pick it up then. Steve ordered 194 cans of formula; that should last until the shortage is over.
Mr. Iddrisu finished painting the kitchen in the apartment and we got the furniture moved back in a little while ago. It looks so nice.Zorash has not been feeling well so she went to the doctor. He said he thinks she has an ulcer. He gave her some medicine but she does not like to take medicine or eat on a regular schedule. She is a Muslim and they do a lot of fasting which I don’t think is particularly good for an ulcer.
Take care and have a great day!
In His Service,
Steve and Kandie
