Sallay and Sattu

Last year just before I left Sierra Leone I ran into a friend of mine at one of the smaller markets in Bo. She asked me if I would come with her to her neighbor's house because their children needed my help. On the way over I learned I was walking into a situation much bigger than myself. There were three children ages 6 and under. The father had passed (at the time I was told it was two weeks earlier but have since learned it was at least a month maybe two) and the mother had died that morning- her body was still in the home when I got there. Many relatives were at the home but no one felt they were able to care for the children. They all wanted me to take them to Jonathan's House- however it is not that simple. This is a good thing in someways because how does the government know that a place is safe for a child if they are not involved but in others it is difficult because dealing with any part of the government here is not easy and especially not fast. I arranged for some members of the family to meet with Social Welfare so start the process to have them declared orphans and let Social Welfare know that we were in a position to care for them if they placed them in our care. I then had all the kids taken to the hospital to be checked out and left the country not too long after.

I didn't hear anything about them while I was gone and about a week after coming I found my friend Isata in the market and asked her about them- hearing what she had to say was very difficult. They had tried to go through the process with Social Welfare and their families- but here in Sierra Leone the mans family has the decision making power. The children were in the care of the mother's family for sometime- but it was an elderly sick grandfather who was caring for them. They desperately wanted the kids to go to a home to be cared for but the father's family would not let that happen so that is the final decision- even if they do not step up and care for them themselves. One of the children's Aunties from out in the village came in to see them just the day before I saw Isata and saw how sick the children were and wanted to take them to the village with her- though she didn't have money or the access to the medical care needed. She did decided to take the older two but the youngest was just to sick so she left her with the elderly aunt of the dad. (This Aunt- Nancy had been caring for the littlest one- Sallay for the past few months since the grandfather- mom's dad- had gotten sick). Isata took me to the mom's family and I met with her sister Massah who I had talked with before I left. She took me to Sallay and what I found was difficult to see. I have tried to upload this photo three times and though it is the correct way on my computer it keeps flipping sideways when I upload it so just turn your head to look at it.

This is Sallay. She is almost 3 yrs and I know it is a bit difficult to see in the photo but she is very malnourished. The evening I saw her she was a bit despondent and very week- we gave her some plumpy-nut and even formula that night to get something in her but had to wait until the following day to go to Social Welfare. We were able to talk with some of the dad's family as well as the mom's and it was agreed that everyone involved wanted us to take the kids. There is a hospital here called Gondama- it is a hospital that still has doctors from MSF- Doctors without Borders- and it is a free hospital- especially known for caring for malnourished children. The family knew they could take Sallay there but no one was willing to go with her- they did not want to take the time it would to stay with her until she was healthy. It was hard to see. I was holding Sallay for some time and she was just so limp- her body mostly bones- her back bones and ribs all showing clearly and when she lays down it was even more pronounced. It is a difficult situation to approach as these are their children and yet- they are literally dying. We (Pa Conteh and Pst. Ibrahim were with me at this point) talked to them as kindly as we could to explain what we could do to help them and that if they were willing we would go with them to Social Welfare in the morning- along with the children and try to do what we could to help them.

The next morning two of the children arrived- Sallay and her 4yr old sister Sattu along with the elderly Aunt and their uncle (the dad's brother). They had talked and decided that this was what they wanted. We all went to Social Welfare as soon as it opened and after looking at the children they knew they wanted them to be placed in our care. Sattu is not as malnourished as Sallay- but she was suffering from chronic malaria, severe scabies, ring-worm, stomach worms, and a few other things. As soon as we left SW we went straight to Gondama. We were seen almost immediately and after checking Sallay over she was taken straight to the hospital and admitted. She will be there for some time as it takes awhile to treat malnoutrition. I have been to visit her several times now and she does seem to be doing better though it is so hard to see progress at this point. The doctors tell me she is moving along well and is on to stage two. Stage three moves her onto another place and then she will soon be able to come home. I will admit that I am a bit nervous about that part. I know that even when she gets here Sallay will still have a long way to go and though I want her to be in a safe loving place- I also want her to be as healthy as possible and I feel being with the doctors as long as possible gives her that chance. She is also still a bit afraid of me (kids her age seem to have a fear of the Pumois- whites) and since I haven't had but a few hours with her she is not yet ready to fully trust me.

As for Sattu she came home with me that day and is now at the home with us. She is doing remarkably well. By the end of the first day she was quite attached to me. We have had to work on that over time since I am not able to be with her all the time and she needed to get used to the rest of the staff and kids. It was hard to have her be upset but I can see now how much she needed that as she now runs around and plays with the other kids very well. The day we arrived home I took her into the hut- washed her, gave her clean clothes and then we ate lunch together. It was amazing to see the transformation in her in even just that one afternoon. She started playing with me, smiling and even laughing a full belly laugh. One struggle we have is that she only speaks Mende and though I am learning it is not enough for her and I. We will both continue to learn each other's languages and I am sure we'll be communicating well in no time- though I do think we more than manage even now. Over the first week we saw many effects of the malnourishment in Sattu. She had many twitches and her coloring was so poor. Her strength was just not there is so many ways. To see her today- you would never realize what she had been through. God is so good and I know he has been watching over these little ones. I feel so blessed to get to be a part of their lives now and I pray we are able to not only help there health but that we will also be able to show them love and especially Christ's love. They are precious little ones and I want them to know that without a doubt.

Sallay and Sattu do have an older brother. He is still in the village with an aunt and Social Welfare feels his health is fine and for now he will not be placed in our care. As we go through this process with Sallay and Sattu- if it is determined they are to stay with us more long term then he will come into the picture at that time. Please pray for these kids as well as the staff at JH. One more prayer request- having Sallay at Gondama and visiting her there has given me the chance to meet MANY more children in much worse conditions. Going back into this ward the first time- I saw some children that I could not even believe were still here. Sallay looks HEALTHY compared to them. These doctors and nurses are doing the best they can and are really making a difference in many children's lives but it is a long and difficult process and something that is hard to really comprehend how children can get to such a state. It is not like anything I have even seen on TV and I know we have seen a lot. Please pray for wisdom and knowledge for these doctors and nurses as well as for peace and comfort as this is not an easy job.

We also have 3 other new children at the home that I would like to introduce you to soon.

Sattu has just come into my room. I wish you could here her- she says "Mommy Christie" then laughs and runs out of the room waiting for me to chase her- then seconds later she is back. I had better go play with her for a bit. I hope it won't take long for Sallay to be joining her in the laughter and fun.