From Premature Orphan to Thriving Toddler
Two years ago, Success was born prematurely.
This was due to serious complications that her mother, the late Pillilani, suffered when she was six months pregnant.
Alinafe, Success’ aunt, says the complications were a result of cancer of the esophagus that was diagnosed at an advanced stage.
“The chance that my sister would survive this deadly disease was very slim,” says Alinafe from Malawi.
She adds: “The wisest decision nurses and doctors thought they could make at that moment, was to save the life of the baby that was born at just 24 weeks.”
She says, Success was born with a low Body Mass Index (BMI) and that, she was immediately enrolled into kangaroo care.
Not long after being enrolled in the care, her mother passed on. Success became an orphan.
“It was a worrisome moment considering that the child was young and I had no reliable source of income to take care of the child,” Alinafe narrated while tears gathered in her eyes.
Nevertheless, the mother of five was left with no option but to adopt her late sister’s child.
She confesses that at the helm of her wise choice stands World Vision. World Vision trained Health Surveillance Assistants (HSAs) and volunteers especially cluster leaders under the Maternal Child Health project.
In 2021, HSAs were oriented on Timely Targeted Counseling (TTC), an approach where volunteers counsel pregnant women until the child they are expecting is two years old.
Alinafe was one of the people who benefitted from TTC intervention. She was one day spotted by Mcfield, a Health Surveillance Assistant who discovered that baby Success’ condition needed urgent attention.
Mcfield says the baby's BMI was 1.3 kilograms, a clear indication that she had malnutrition.
“From that very moment, we started visiting Alinafe twice every month to check on the baby’s health status using Mid-Upper Arm Circumference screening (MUAC) and weight measurements and also at the same time, providing necessary counseling, particularly on formula-feeding and home care practices to avert malnutrition,” he says.
He adds: “We also advised her to continue accessing postnatal care service regularly at the nearest health center and also make sure that the child sleeps under the treated mosquito net and finally that the surrounding is kept clean to prevent the spread of the diseases that come due to uncleanliness.”
Chimwemwe is the cluster leader in the area. She says her care group which has a membership of 13 people has managed to reach out to over 2,000 households since 2021 with safe motherhood and child care messages.
The group's enthusiasm towards promoting maternal and child health care services at a community level and the commitment that Alinafe had over the child’s health, have seen baby Success grow healthier with each passing day. She is now playful and her BMI has risen to 10.5 kilograms.
Today, catching the glimpse of a two-year-old Success playing, everyone in their community is happy seeing how she pulled through the difficult moments.
They all gave praise to World Vision for implementing the project and pledged to spread the messages further.