Little Sydney has defied the odds, from being exposed to HIV, being malnourished, experiencing the worst form of stigma and discrimination, to losing his parents and his home.
Having lost his father even before he was born, Sydney and his mother first came to TTF when he was barely three months old. They were identified in the community by one of TTF's community health workers. His mother was very ill and extremely malnourished. She had stopped taking her ARV medication for over three years. Due to her condition, she was not able to breastfeed Sydney properly and he too became severely malnourished.
Everything seemed to be going well for Sydney, until one fateful morning, his mother succumbed to the illness, leaving Sydney and his siblings orphaned. Sadly baby Sydney faced stigma and rejection from his mother’s surviving relatives, saying they could not look after a sick baby, despite being told that his HIV test results came out negative. They refused to take baby Sydney in.
But, as they say every dark cloud, has a silver lining. Violet Tembo, a TTF community health worker came through for little Sydney and took both Sydney and his 3 siblings in, while waiting to find a permanent place for them.
At six, Sydney is today a healthy, energetic, and happy baby. TTF is grateful to Violet and her family for stepping in and taking care of Sydney and his siblings while we work towards securing a safe permanent place for them.
Your support, can help more vulnerable children like Sydney live a healthy life. Donate and give the gift of health