TINY TIM AND FRIENDS
  • Home
  • Donate Online
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • HIV/AIDS - Know the Facts
    • Our People
    • Our Partners
  • What we do
    • Who We Help
    • TTF Clinic
    • Community Outreaches
    • Counselling/ Support Groups
    • EMTCT
    • Nutritional Support
    • Palliative Care
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer opportunities
    • Fundraise for TTF
    • Give a Gift in Kind
    • Work with us
  • TTF Blog
  • Contact Us
    • Contact TTF Zambia
    • Contact TTF USA
    • Sign up to our newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work with us

THE NEED FOR QUICK INTERVENTIONS FOR SMALL CHILDREN.....

11/16/2016

0 Comments

 
Rachel, a vulnerable 2 year old patient

AS SOON AS WE ASKED RACHEL'S MOTHER ABOUT FOOD SHE BROKE DOWN IN TEARS


By Jac Connell, Acting Country Director, Tiny Tim & Friends: 
A few weeks ago one of the social work team came to my office with a small child, Rachel (aged 2), who had been identified at the Clinic that day as HIV+ and at risk of TB. Weighing only 7.1kgs (15lbs), our counselor, Mwenda, was concerned about malnutrition and wanted to include Rachel on the list of patients who would benefit from our crowd funding campaign, should we be successful. 

She was incredibly tiny and I could tell from holding her that she had breathing problems and a persistent cough, a symptom we see often at the clinic and a primary indicator of TB. 

As with all of the patients we are considering supporting with nutrition the team usually sit with the family or undertake a home visit to assess what the household is like, how many people the individual lives with and what the income for the household is. 

As soon as we asked Elina, Rachel's mother, about food for the family she broke down in tears. She admitted that there was no food at home, as her husband was bedridden with TB and therefore had lost his job. They were totally reliant on her mother in law to provide food and often would survive on only one meal a day. 

RACHEL IS VULNERABLE. BEING UNDERWEIGHT PUTS HER AT RISK OF A NUMBER OF ILLNESSES WHICH COULD PROVE FATAL.


Rachel and her mother Elina
Sadly, their story isn't particularly unique to us. They live in a two room house, sharing a pit latrine with their neighbors (17 people in total). Elina had never been to school as a child because her family couldn't afford it and therefore had never been able to get a job herself. Rachel's father is unable to work so they pay their rentals (approx $30 per month) through support from other family members.

Rachel has an older sister, who is 7 and in good health, but who has had to stop going to school after they could no longer pay the school fees. 

Rachel has been diagnosed with TB, but without food, both her and her father will struggle to take their medicine, recover and risk passing the disease to her mother. Having only recently started on HIV treatment, Rachel is in a vulnerable situation. Being underweight puts her at risk of picking up any number of illnesses which could prove to be fatal. 

We need all of our donors and supporters around the world to come together to support children like Rachel through our crowd funding campaign - by donating you will change a child's life: 


DONATE TO SUPPORT RACHEL'S HEALTH >>
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    DONATE >>

      sign up to our newsletter

    Subscribe >>

    FOLLOW US: 

    RSS Feed


    archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    October 2019
    November 2018
    April 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    May 2016
    March 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014


    Categories

    All
    Birth
    Children
    Community Outreach
    Counselling
    Death
    Donations
    Dr Tim Meade
    Fundraising
    Grief
    HIV
    HIV Negative Children
    HIV Testing
    Loss
    Lusaka
    Nutrition
    PMTCT
    Tiny Tim & Friends
    TTF Clinic
    TTF Partnerships
    TTF Women's Groups
    Volunteer
    Women's Rights
    Young People And Adolescents
    Zambia

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
Photos used under Creative Commons from DFID - UK Department for International Development, kennethkonica
  • Home
  • Donate Online
  • About Us
    • Our Story
    • HIV/AIDS - Know the Facts
    • Our People
    • Our Partners
  • What we do
    • Who We Help
    • TTF Clinic
    • Community Outreaches
    • Counselling/ Support Groups
    • EMTCT
    • Nutritional Support
    • Palliative Care
  • Get Involved
    • Volunteer opportunities
    • Fundraise for TTF
    • Give a Gift in Kind
    • Work with us
  • TTF Blog
  • Contact Us
    • Contact TTF Zambia
    • Contact TTF USA
    • Sign up to our newsletter
  • Donate
  • Work with us