By William M. | Pharmacist Baylor-Uganda
Due to an agreement with Baylor-Uganda, we cannot post a photo of Kalungi or other very young children.
Kalungi is a client at Baylor-Uganda in the post natal clinic. He and his sister have been in care for one year and five months. He is 3 years old and currently in the care of his grandmother who is so appreciative for the care and treatment that has been renderred to her grandchildren.
At the grandmother's home she narrates “I went to visit my daughter and all I found was a sick mother with 2 very small children in the house. I asked her to come to hospital for an HIV test because she had taken all kinds of medication but was not improving at all. She agreed with but insisted the children not be tested. I think she was afraid of what she'd find out”. She was found HIV positive and was started on medication.
Later, the children were also brought to Baylor-Uganda, tested and were started on medicine and care because they were found to be HIV+. She was later visited by a community health based worker for adherence and with utter dismay, she found the babies home alone. The next day, the health worker visited early and found that the mom had forgotten to administer the night dose because she had come back late from work. She was asked why she had a lot of pill balances and said she had no time because of her nature of work and her unreliable schedule. The children’s grandmother was called and asked to intervene, and she immediately agreed to take the children to her place where she would take better care of them.
The biggest challenge grandma faced was that she was not financially stable and her little income from her small mukene [small fish] business could not sustain the whole family, especially with the special diet needed for the malnourished boy. He was referred to the Nutrition unit for further help to improve his health. She was further strained by the death of her daughter who used to sent some money for the children’s upkeep.
Grandama says she is very happy for what Baylor-Uganda and AFCA have done for her grand children, for the medication she would not be able to afford and for the nutritional supplements that have helped her grandchildren’s health to improve. She says they are now looking healthy and are more active in their play. She also appreciates the continuous routine visits and adherence counseling by the field officers, showing that she and her grandchildren are loved and thought about.
YOU are part of this story, friends. YOU have helped provide medicine and HIV testing kits for children like Kalungi and his sister. YOU have helped give their grandmother hope and YOU've helped give life to the little ones. Thank you!
By Tanya Weaver | Executive Director
By Tanya Weaver | Executive Director
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