Antonia is 8 months old and weighs 11 pounds. She was brought to the clinic by her mother.  She has been following in our outpatient malnutrition program for several weeks with not much change in her weight.  She was never breastfed as her mom is HIV +.  She has three other sisters that live at home with the family.  The mom and children live with Antonia’s grandparents.  The mom was screened while she was pregnant for HIV and was negative but became extremely ill after giving birth and then tested +.  Antonia has been sick for several months but 1 weeks before being admitted had a fever and diarrhea. She has tested negative for HIV.  The family of 7 lives in a 1 room home made of tin and tarp. They do not have running water They get their water from a piped system that is about a 10-minute walk from their home. They traveled about 1 hour by motorcycle to arrive at the clinic. She was started on F-75 therapeutic milk and then medika mamba.

Benley is 6 years old and weights 34 pounds. He was in our inpatient care facility several years ago.  He recovered and went home with his family.  Since that time, he has been following each month and receiving a food box. We began to see his weight dropping several months ago. His mom had a baby and found it difficult to make ends meet.  The dad was in the Dominican Republic over a year looking for work but returned this summer.  His dad asked if he could be readmitted when his weight dropped again.  He was not severally malnourished but was heading that way.  His dad is now waiting on the harvest from their gardens to sell.  His family has gardens where they plant watermelons, corn and grains. They live in 1 room home made of tin and plywood. They do not have running water at their home or a flush toilet but do have an outhouse.  The family gets their water from a river that is about 10 minutes away from their home.  They traveled 3 hours by motorcycle and machine to arrive at the clinic.  He was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba program.

Chanaica is 8 months old and weighs 11 pounds. She was brought to the clinic by her aunt.  Her mom died 2 days after she was born and has been passed around between different family member since that time. When her aunt went to visit her and saw how bad she was she brought her to the clinic.  She had a case of scabies and her hair was also falling out. She has 2 living siblings a sister and a brother.  She lives in a 2 room home made of tin and sticks with 3 other family members. 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 about a 20 minute walk from their home.  They traveled 1 hour by motorcycle to arrive at the clinic.  She was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba.

Davidson  is 10 months old and was 10 pounds at his lowest weight. He is an only child. His mom buys items in bulk and resells them for a profit. His dad is in prison.  Davidson and his mom live with a family member in a 3 room house with 9 other family members.  They do not have running water at their home or flush toilet but do have an outhouse.  They get their water from a pump that is near their home. His mom left him at the aunt’s house and left for 2 months.  During that time, he became sick.  He lost weight and had lots of sores on him.  He also had the beginning signs of kwashiorkor, with edema in his legs and feet. He was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk and then graduated to the medika mamba program.

Djenisha is 3 1/2 years old. She came to our clinic in Dec of 2019 and weighed 13 pounds.  She was admitted to the outpatient Medika Mamba program for malnutrition but never returned.  She returned in Aug of 2020 and weighed 12 pounds.  She has been living with her grandma and great grandma for the past several months.  Her mom comes and goes and is sometimes gone for months. She is an only child.  She is in a 4-room home with 10 other people.  They do not have running water at their home or a flush toilet but do have an outhouse. They purchase their water from a person that collected rainwater in a large cistern. The grandma and grandpa have gardens where they can sell the produce.  They grow corn, watermelons, yams and hot peppers in their gardens.  They traveled 6 hours by motorcycle and machine to arrive at the clinic.  She was started on the F-75 therapeutic milk then graduated to the medika mamba program.

He was brought the clinic by his grandma.  She does not know who the father is and the mother is living in the streets after she left Edlens at grandmas house.  He is an only child.  Edlens lives with 6 other family members in a 2 room home made of boards 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 place that is about a 10-minute walk from their home.  The week before he was admitted he had a fever, cold and vomiting.  He was started on infant formula and is doing well.