Children in Malawi Celebrate a Miracle: Thomas’ Story
POSTED ON Jan 04, 2012
Baby Thomas is thriving at COTN’s Chiwengo Children’s Homes in Malawi. He recently celebrated his first birthday.
Thomas was severely malnourished and underweight when he came into the Chiwengo Children’s Homes at one week old.
COTN’s caregivers were able to nurse Thomas back to health, thanks to the generous support of our partners.
After just a few months, Thomas was in much better health. Today, he’s a happy, well-fed little boy.
It’s hard to imagine a newborn surviving for nearly a week on nothing but water. But Thomas did just that. His grandmother brought him to the Children of the Nations (COTN) Chiwengo Children’s Homes in Malawi when he was only six days old. He had had nothing but water since he was born.
Thomas’ mother is mentally ill. She arrived at her mother’s home shortly before giving birth and left again right after. The whereabouts of Thomas’ father are unknown. Already caring for Thomas’ three older siblings, his grandmother had to make the difficult decision to give up her grandson. She could not afford to buy eight-dollar cans of formula—the average Malawian lives on less than one dollar a day. It takes a lot of courage to say, “I cannot care for this child.” Thomas’ grandmother realized his survival depended on this act of courage.
Upon arriving at the Chiwengo Children’s Homes, Thomas weighed just 5.2 pounds. Charity Misasa, the Chiwengo Children's Homes nurse, took one look at Thomas and pronounced him a miracle. “Only by the grace of God did he survive that long on water,” she says. At first, Thomas showed signs of malnutrition and dehydration, including jaundice of the eyes and a lack of urine. He was also very weak, with skin that easily peeled.
Thomas’ health has improved markedly since coming under COTN’s care. His house parents, Evans and Mary Hawire, fed him a consistent formula diet. The other eighteen children in the Hawires’ home were also eager to care for Thomas, including Joseph Banda, a three-year-old. “Joseph wanted to share his food with Thomas,” Charity says, with a grin.
Thomas’ skin has smoothed, the whites of his eyes have brightened, and his strength and weight have improved. Last October, Thomas turned one. In a country where one of every fifteen children won’t live to see their first birthday, this day was an occasion of great thankfulness for Thomas’ first year, and for the promising life before him. The support of our partners is directly behind this achievement. People like you made it possible to provide Thomas with the extra care he needed to survive. Now, because of such generosity, Thomas knows he will grow up with the love and care of a family, he’ll always have enough to eat, and one day, he’ll get to attend school.
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