Born in 2019, Farook had an incredibly tough start to life after tragically losing his Mum when he was only two months old.
Farook was brought to Open Arms by his Aunts after spending the first few months of his life in hospital due to acute malnutrition. Weighing a very small 11lbs, when Farook came to Blantyre Infant Home, he was very sick with fevers and had difficulty breathing.
With the right medical care and round the clock support, Farook grew stronger every day. It was incredible to see Farook finally reaching all the development milestones for his age, mixing and playing well with other children in the home. He especially loves playing with his favourite animal toys and is fascinated by moving objects from one place to another.
During his time at Blantyre, Farook learnt to crawl, pull himself up, take his first steps, and speak his first words.
A huge milestone for every child!
Despite loosing his Mum, Farook's extended family stayed in touch during his time at Open Arms. Encouraged by our team they continued to visit throughout his stay, which is extremely important for engagement, connection to family and community, and to support his reintegration when ready.
The big move
In January this year, Farook made the big move back to his hometown to live with his Aunt after a monitoring visit by our team.
Farook's successful reintegration is a testament to the team's hard work at Open Arms. Our outreach team, who focus on making sure children continue to thrive at home so they can grow up healthy and supported in a loving family environment will now continue his support.
Farook’s life, thankfully, has been transformed. Thanks to your support and generous donations he has a future to look forward to.
Visiting the family regularly, we will stay in touch with Farook to continue to monitor his health and well-being and provide support is needed. Farook is now a very happy little boy who is healthy and loved dearly by his Aunt. We're confident that Farook will continue to grow and develop at home to fulfil his potential within his community.
With your continued support, fundraising initiatives, and donations, you can help more children like Farook through a difficult start and to successfully return home to their families and avoid long term institutional care.
Visit our how you can help pages today to find out how you can donate, sponsor a child, fundraise, and more. We’d love to hear from you!
Your donation will help children in Malawi grow up healthy with the love of a family
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