SANTO

He is 2 1/2 years old and weighs 23 pounds. He is the 3rd child in his family with kwashiorkor.  One was in our inpatient program a few years ago and the other one died at home.  His papa works in a bread bakery and his mama buy items and resells them. The family of 5 lives in a 1 room home that they rent.  They do not have running water at the house, or a flush toilet, but do have an outhouse.  The day he was admitted he has not had anything to eat and the day before had juice.  His mama knows that he is like this due to malnutrition. The family has an average monthly income of  $118.00US.  Theymade the trip here on a moto for about 2 hours before arriving.  Santo was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba program.

ANGELITA

She is 18 months old and weighs 17 pounds 6 ounces. She comes from a family of 7 siblings.  Her parents are both farmers and grow beans, pumpkins and bananas in their gardens.  The family of 9 lives in a 2 room home made of dirt, sticks and brush.  They get their water from a source that is about a 5 minute walk from their home.  They do not have running water in  their home or a flush toilet, not even an outhouse.  She has been losing weight since her mama stopped breastfeeding her at 12 months of age.  She has been swollen with kwashiorkor and had a fever when admitted.  She also failed the appetite test for eating the mamba.  Her mama traveled 2 hours by moto and taxi to arrive here.  She believes that Angelita is sick with malnutrition because she does not want to eat. This is her first time with kwashiorkor.  The family has a average monthly income of $235.00US.  She was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba program.

FRITZSON

He is 18 months old and weights 18 pounds.  His mama left him with his papa a few months ago and he has been sick since then.  His malnutrition came quickly and we are hopeful that once his swelling goes down from the kwashiorkor that he will recover quickly.  He was also admitted with a high fever and failed the appetite test given. Fritzson’s papa driver a moto/taxi for an income.  This is his only child and he is very worried about him.  Papa lives in a 3 room home made of block, cement and tin.  They do not have running water at the home, or a flush toilet, but do have an outhouse. They buy their water from a local truck that travels around and sells water by the gallon. Fritzson’s  dad believe he is malnourished due to him not eating well.  It took him about 1 hour to arrive at the clinic from his home by moto.  He was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba.

HONDA

She is 9 months old and weighs 10 pounds.  Her mama died when he was just a month old.  She has been living with several different family members since then.  This past week her aunt saw how much weight she has lost and brought her to the clinic.  They came by moto and tap-tap to get here- it took them about 2 hours.  She does not know much about Honda’s papa and he has not been around at all.  Her aunt has a garden where she grows beans and corn.  Honda has 2 other livings siblings that are living with other family members as well.  There are 2 other siblings that died when they were small babies. They do not have running water at their home, or a flush toilet, not even an outhouse.  They get their water from a source that is about a 30 minute walk from their home.  The family has an income of about $53.00US a month.  When we asked the aunt why she thought Honda was this way she said because no one wants to take care of her. The day she was admitted she has not had anything to eat and the day before a bowl of rice.  She was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba program.

JUDNER

He is 23 months old and weighs 16 pounds.  His mama brought him from a village not to far away, it took them about 30 minutes to get here on a moto.  He is an only child.  His papa fixes cell phones and his mama buy in bulk and resells the items for a profit. The family lives in a 3 room home made of block ,cement and tin.  They do not have running water at their home, or a flush toilet, but do have an outhouse.  They get their water from a hand-pump that is near their home.  Judner began showing signs of mild kwashiorkor (swelling in his feet/legs) about 1 week ago.  He also has a fever and failed his appetite test. The day he was admitted he had coffee and bread to eat and the day before he had a plate of rice.  The family has an average monthly income of about $14US.  When we asked his mama why she thinks he is malnourished and sick she said she thinks he has worms.  He was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba program.

SEIBIEN

He is 4 years old and weighs 20 pounds.  He has been on the waiting list for a few months to be admitted.  He was not in serious condition but has a complication.  He has never walked.  He can stand up for short periods of time but does not have enough strength to walk.  The family of 10 lives in a 4 room home made of sticks, clay and tin.  They do not have running water at their home or a flush toilet, not even and outhouse.  His parent both work in their gardens growing corn and grains. The day he was admitted he has bread and peanut butter to eat and the day before a plate of rice.  His mama thinks he is malnourished due to not eating well.  They walked on foot 5 hours to arrive at the clinic.  He was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba program.

WILSON

He is 5 years old and weighs 24 pounds.  He was refereed to us from Bread to the Nations. He is a very sick little boy.  He was admitted with severe kwashiorkor and a fever and dehydration.   This is his first time with kwashiorkor but it is a bad cases and he has been sick for a long time.  His family of 5 lives in a tent.  They do not have running water in their home, or a flush toilet, but do have an outhouse.  They get their water from a source that is near their home.  The day he was admitted he ate medika mamba and the day before mamba as well.

There are several items that we look at when admitted a child to the inpatient program.  One of those is measuring the child’s arm circumference.  This is one of the last places that losses muscle and fat.  It gives us a good indication as to how long the child has been dealing with malnutrition and how starved they have been.

Wilson’s arm measures 10.5cm.  This is tape measure on at 10.5 cm, about the size of the lid of a sprite bottle.  He is going to be very skinny and small once he loses all his “water weight” from the kwashiorkor.  He has a long road to recovery.  He was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and them graduated to the medika mamba program.