Feed 30 malnourished young children in Kenyan slum

From the day he was born in Kiandutu slums Kimotho’s life was a struggle. His desperately poor vulnerable parents could barely manage to scrape together two skimpy meals for the family each day. Undernourished herself, his mother wasn’t able to breastfeed him, so baby Kimotho was fed the same food of ugali (ground corn) and sukuma, as his parents and older brother.

At 15 months old, little Kimotho weighed 13 pound, more like an average 7 month old baby in the US. He was miserably unhappy and inconsolable.  When he became dehydrated from severe diarrhea, his parents travelled by foot to Thika trauma hospital for hours. After two days of treatment, he was discharged and referred by the nutrition department in the hospital to our center and Kiandutu. He was admitted and we started the journey to recovery.

Because his little body couldn’t tolerate high-calorie food, at first Kimotho was fed small amounts every two to three hours. He required four months of feeding and treatment – twice the average – to restore his health. In the meantime, with her beloved baby finally being nourished and restored to health, his mother Mwikali was taught on diversifying other types of food, the benefits of eating a balanced diet, and how to prepare food using the locally available resources. Her husband Sam was also boosted by Macheo to start a small business and for now they are eating healthy food and studying the essentials of nutrition. Now, children like Kimotho come to the Macheo Malnourished Children's Program for nutritional rehabilitation because friends like you helped with treatment of the underlying malnutrition. 

Thank you for the amazing help you have provided.