About 5 or 6 weeks ago I posted a comment on Facebook (don't worry I am posting just a little there as I am here- so if we are not friends you are not missing much info. I am really lacking in technology time here lately and when I do get it late at night sleep is just too tempting- pray for energy for me. I have so much I want to post about- so regarding that, let me get back to this post at least) Back to the comment- I mentioned a women who had given birth to 3 sets of twins. Almost unimaginable. I guess that the first set of twins passed away some years ago. The second set is now four years and the third set would be 3 in November.
We met this family a few years ago and JCC has been giving the family a little support each month to help with food as the father of the first twins died- the second left when he found out it was twins and the third father is crippled. Honestly the amount we give them is not a lot but it is something. We were helping with formula for the youngest twins and in 2009 when the One-by-One team was here we were able to paint a room in their house and give them a double bed for the children to sleep on. Since that time I have seen the mother a couple times and the oldest twins but had not been back to the house.
Around 6 weeks ago we received a call early in the morning that the mother had passed away giving birth to her seventh child- a precious little girl. The mother now left behind her 5 living children and we are not even sure who the father of this last girl is. The grandmother is a loving lady but she is not working and unable to care for all these children. Our first goal was to get the baby somewhere she could be fed and properly cared for. At the time we thought Baby Rescue was the best place for her as that is what their program is all about- caring for infants who have lost their mothers. We worked with Social Welfare and the family for almost 3 weeks before the little girl was taken into Baby Rescue. We were able to help supply her with formula through that time but even with that the family was having a difficult time keeping her fed (there is great confusion here involving formula- it is either greatly watered down or they feed a bottle with formula and then the next time just water. For the first two days of her life they only gave her sugar water). When she was finally safe and into the home we started the process to see how to best help the other children.
The grandmother had been bringing the baby to us and then we would go to the hospital and Social Welfare together from JCC so up to this point I had still not been to the home. Part of the reason for this is that there are a couple aunts and uncles of these children- some would be able to care for the kids but as soon as they see me everyone will sit back and wait for me to take them. Of course I wanted them to be cared for but I also feel that the best place long term for these children are with their extended families- so we had talked with the leadership team at JCC and decided we would like to see if the family members would stand up first to care for the 4 remaining children. However when I went to the home to see the kids I was shocked at the condition of the youngest twins. The older 4 yr old twins LOOK GOOD. Healthy and almost chubby. However the little ones are VERY SMALL. At the time they were sitting on the ground and when I asked if they could stand or walk they said they could only stand but not walk- AT ALMOST THREE. The grandmother was really trying but obviously these little ones had been struggling for a long time even before their mother passed.
At this time we had already asked Social Welfare to look into this family and the children there but after the visit I talked with Mr. Miller again and he said he would visit them soon. We were expecting our 3rd team of visitors to arrive and I was on my way to Freetown so I did not push him to go any faster. I knew the kids were not where they needed to be health and development wise but they had been there for this long already and I decided I could deal with it when I returned. Joe and the 7 team members and I arrived back in Bo only to find out short time later that the youngest girl twin had died.
I took this one hard. She didn't have to die- she was malnourished and her body couldn't handle the cold she caught two days before. We were in the process of getting her into JCC- I wanted to have the chance to try to help her. Have I become a little calloused towards all I see? I mean there are so many kids out there who need help and I see situations like this often. I was so worried about the infant and when that was taken care of I didn't push too hard- should I have fought harder for her? Yes I am still struggling with this- especially as I look at her little brother everyday thinking she should be next to him. I have to let this rest in God's hands though. I don't understand it all. Of course I am not the one who could have saved her. I don't even know fully what her situation was. However it is hard for me not to go with the what ifs- and I really just wanted the chance to try to help her, but I still choose to trust him. As my mom said when I told her we were four days too late to try to save her- "You also could have been 5 days just in time to save Amos."
Social Welfare was already moving towards placing the youngest twins with us but when they also learned of the girl's death they moved faster and Amos was with us a couple days later. We informed the family that we would be coming to get him the next morning. We placed him in Mommy Alice's house (House 5- Galilee here at JCC) so she came with Pa Conteh and I as we went to pick him up. We arrived to see him holding onto the wall and walking- I was shocked. His tiny legs are like toothpicks that look about to break under him. However he was in a good mood and just the sweetest little boy. My heart ached for his grandmother. She had lost her daughter and granddaughter and even though this time was different- she was also having to say goodbye to her grandson and you could see the love she has for him radiating through her body. She had to hide as we took him away but I could see the tears streaming down her face as she repeated over and over- "Bissea, Bissea." (thank you, Thank you).
As we drove away Amos looked out the back of the jeep and cried but only for a short distance as mommy Alice sang to him. We drove straight to Gondama hospital. Upon our arrival they were kind enough to move us through quite quickly. The weighed and measured Ibrahim Amos. I honestly cannot remember his exact height but he only wieghed 6.6kg (around 14lbs). His height is pretty normal for his age so he is extremely underweight- at the very bottom of their charts. They told me an average weight for a child his height and age would be between 11-13kg. So our little Amos is half the weight he should be.
He is a trooper. They had to do blood tests and give vaccines and he would only cry for about 30 seconds and stop each time. He would look at me and Mommy Alice each time they pulled out his finger because he knew what they were going to do- but he would just make a sad face and leave his hand there for them to do what was needed. After all of it we were enrolled into a food program. This is great as they give us a weekly supply of Plumpy Nut (an enriched packet of food for severely malnourished children). the vitamins and nutrients he receives from this plumpy nut would be difficult for us to get him with our normal diet here. Now each Tuesday Amos and Mommy Alice go back out to Gondama (with the empty packets from each day to prove that he is eating it and we are not selling it as commonly happens here) and get Amos weighed and receive his next weeks supply. After one week with us he weighed in at 7.5kg- almost a full kg in one week. The medical records we had for him showed that in March of 2009 he had visited the doctor and weighted 5.8kg- so in 2 years he had gained less than one kilogram and now with one week of good food he had gained the same amount.
Beyond my thankfulness for his improved health, I am blessed by this little boy. He has the greatest personality. He is quick to smile and easy to sooth. He LOVES to be with me or Mommy Alice. Well actually this in the last week has started to show another not so easy side to his personality. If he is playing with the kids he is fine until one of us walks by- then he screams and screams wanting us to take him. At this point it is not so easy to soothe him. However if he is sick or hurt or tired he is not too fussy. He is eating well, walking better each day and even talking more. He is a Mende boy and speaks only Mende- I hope he keeps this. I encourage the moms to speak Mende to him as I know he will pick up the Krio and English quickly from the kids but I don't want him to loose his Mende.
I still look at him and feel an ache wondering what it would be like to see Amos and his sister together- to watch all the kids wanting to carry Amos to also be able to carry her. However I can also look at him and smile seeing not only how the food, medicine, and LOVE are improving his life but also how much he is adding to our home here.
Again I am learning over and over that I will not understand all, I will not be able to solve everything that I think I can but through it everything God is faithful and trustworthy. Each day I choose not only to serve him, but to love and obey him. To follow where he leads and to (try) not worry or fear. How come when we see the trials, struggles, pain and difficulties we are also more open to see and experience his love, peace, joy and BLESSINGS?!?!
(I have tried for 2 days to add Amos's photo but the upload is not working so you'll have to wait for that one)
Please continue to pray for Amos and his two older sisters. They are staying with an Aunt and the grandmother and at the time are doing well. With the "burden" lifted from the aunt and grandmother we feel these two can now get what they need and continue to grow healthy and be loved and cared for by their family. We will continue to check in on them as I am sure Amos's grandmother will continue to check in on him here.
One last thing- Amos arrived when there was a team of 42 people from all over the states and Canada staying here with us. He is now a BIG fan of the PUMOIS ("white" people- even though not all are white that is what they called them as a group). Thanks guys for helping us welcome and love our newest family member.
