March the 8th was an eventful day, when the Social Welfare Department of Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, delivered to us three tiny new babies.
Moses, third from left, was appropriately named after Moses in the Old Testament. He was found on the banks of the heavily polluted river Nasolo which runs through Ndirande, one of our biggest townships.
He was inside a plastic bag. When passing children heard his cries they thought that he was a cat thrown into the river to drown.
One of the stones hit his arm and his cries alerted a woman washing laundry in the filthy water. He was rescued, taken to the hospital, and after some time brought to us. Presently he has to be fed via a dropper.
If anyone can make him thrive, our team of ladies under Eniffer Chilunga will do it. Moses’ mother has been found and charged with infanticide.
The other part of the trio are twins Tadala and Talandira. Their grandmother is already caring for their three siblings, and left their mother, who is mentally unstable, at the hospital to deliver on her own.
Leaving the twins in their mother’s care was too great a risk, especially because her HIV and Tuberculosis could be passed on. Their grandmother was called to come and assist, but she simply could not take on the added responsibilities. Relatives were called from other districts of Malawi, and at their request Social Welfare was able to refer the twins to Open Arms.
Tadala (a girl) and Talandira (a boy) both have names that mean ‘we are blessed’. They are not as small as Moses, both of them are about 2.3 kg at four weeks old. The babies spent the night in the arms of our ‘Mothers’ to help them settle in.
Added 23rd March:
Another new baby: this grandmother was relieved when Yoshua hungrily drank two bottles on arrival. He is tiny for his six months, but smiled at us as he passed through the office.Sadly a second place was requested but the baby died before he reached Open Arms. Demand for new places continues at both Infant Homes.
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