By CrossRiverWatch Admin
No religion is stronger than giving your weaker brother or sister a shoulder to lean on – Prof. Ben Ayade.
“I lost my husband and I had 6 Children, 2 of my children thin thin thin no food, they sick till them die last year na this 4 remain” ! -(a mother’s cry)
OK I think I’ve finally regained some emotional stability to put this write up here.
On Monday while on the field for integrated community health outreach our team met this child who is almost 2 years but can’t walk or talk and has completely failed to thrive!
Severely malnourished and wasted. The mother sells salt at the market as the only means of sustaining her four children and aged mother.
While I was still drowned in the sorrowful sight of this child, I was taken deeper into the village and shown the elder sister who is 5 but is smaller than a 2year old. Clearly malnourished and wasted.
I don’t wish to go through the ordeal of her sad story, (molestation by men who promise to help, stripped of her dignity and further impoverished) because my emotions are falling apart again and my eyes filled with tears.
I took them in my car riding to calabar when I brought out my packed lunch to give the 5years old.
She grabbed the food like her life depended on it, licked her 10 fingers and finished it before I could spell my short name.
Meanwhile the mother was constantly vomiting all the way to the general hospital.
The little baby kept sucking and squeezing the mothers empty breast, it was obvious nothing was coming out.
It was just a pacifier to keep him from the weak faint cry of a dying child. It goes without saying …this ones have never known what school looks like.
Well, lets say Monday was their date with destiny!!!!! We will take it up from here!!!!!!
They are at General Hospital calabar. Show them some love.
Dr. Betta Edu is the Director General of the Cross River state Primary Health Care Development Agency
Leave feedback about this