This is a first!

Check it out! If you look closely at the attached picture of Augustine (Administrative Assistant) holding a giant check you will see that it is made out to the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery. You will also note the amount—MK 750,000.00. That not only sounds like a lot of money, it is a lot of money (around $5,000.00 more or less).

Local congregations and individuals in Malawi have made generous donations to the Nursery from time to time. These gifts are usually in the form of dry goods (flour, sugar, beans etc.) and occasionally some hard to raise Kwacha. Several U.S. funded NGO's in Malawi are also providing grants for our operation. However, the great percentage of our support has come from abroad, especially Presbyterian Church U.S.A congregations.

For the first time a Malawi based business (National Bank of Malawi) has stepped up and made a significant donation to the Nursery on behalf of the orphaned babies in our care. We are thrilled! The occasion was the opening of a beautiful new bank building here in Mzuzu. Bingu Mutarika, the president of Malawi, was invited as the keynote speaker. He personally presented the check to Augustine. When told that we should attend the ceremony to receive a donation, we imagined (at best) that we would receive a few 100 pound bags of maize. That’s why the man in the picture is smiling!

Our hope and prayer is that this donation will be a sign of the future. The more the Nursery gets known around Malawi for its outstanding crisis care for orphaned babies, the more support we will receive from Malawians. This can’t help but strengthen our partnership and secure a bright future for God’s most vulnerable little ones.

Raising the Roof

It was not a good sign. After locking the house, we were walking toward the truck to begin a 4½ hour drive to Lilongwe. First we heard it, then we saw it. Water—pouring out from a pipe near the roof. It was coming from the hot water overflow tank located in the attic crawl space. Since this had happened once before we figured it wasn’t an emergency. Nevertheless, it was not a good sign.

While we were gone the problem was diagnosed. The “pre-fill” tank had a leak. Our Mr. fix-it applied some caulking which slowed the flow but did not solve the problem. Since the leaking tank was made of copper we would need to take it to someone in town who had an acetylene torch and have it soldered. We would have to take the water heater with “pre-fill” tank and all. But there was only one way to get the large contraption out of the attic—through the roof.

On Friday we consulted with a plumber and he agreed to come to the house “first thing” Monday morning. Unfortunately the power & water were shut off on Sunday. Sunday night, the city water started flowing back into the house with all the sediment that accumulates when there is a shut down. (See picture of our kettle with tap water in it.) This clogged the overflow pipe and guess what? Water poured into the attic and then rained down in the hallway. While Darlene started mopping up the water in the hall Paul managed to find the home made ladder, climb through the attic access, unclog the pipe and turn off the hot water altogether.                                              

Shortly after 10:00 a.m. on Monday morning the plumber showed up on his bicycle (which was very helpful because we usually have to provide transport to plumbers, electricians, etc.). Under threatening skies, (this is rainy season) he began raising the roof removing two of the 15 foot long tin sheets. Then the plumber, the cook, the gardener, and Paul hoisted the thing out of the attic, onto the roof, down the rickety ladder, and into the back of the truck. Of course, at this point, there was still water in the tank. This not only made it heavy as a horse but also it began to empty before ever leaving the attic, once again drowning the hall floor below.

While we were in town with the heater, the skies no longer threatened—they delivered a deluge. Fortunately the plumber had replaced the roofing tins and secured them well enough to prevent much of the water from getting into the house.

Now the roof is back on and so is our hot water. It all cost about $70 and a days' work for Paul. When we told a Malawian friend that in the U.S. we usually put our hot water heaters on the ground floor she said: “Good idea!”

Divine Intervention

It was not the end of our world but it sure felt like it.  “I have decided that I need to resign and move to Lilongwe.”   This decision by our Nurse, Anna Kamanga, felt like a tsunami surging over our Crisis Nursery, threatening it’s very foundations.  Anna has served as the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery Nurse since it’s early beginnings.  She has been our rock.  A quiet, competent, compassionate professional, Anna seemed to us irreplaceable.  She was an expert on treating Malaria.  She has invaluable contacts with the local hospitals, medical officers, and police.  And, perhaps above all, she had become a dear friend.

What would we do?  Where could we turn?  Emotionally I was progressing from grief, through anxiety, to outright panic.  An advertisement in the newspaper and an announcement at church brought only one response.  A young woman phoned to say she was interested in the position.   When asked about her education she replied that she had none but she would really like to be a nurse.

Just a few weeks before Anna was to officially resign and depart for Lilongwe, an old friend whom she hadn‘t seen in years, “happened” to stop by her house for a visit.  When Joyce Nyasulu learned of Anna’s plans she mentioned that she herself was thinking of resigning her current position (which involved a lot of travel) and returning home to Mzuzu if she could find the right job.

Two weeks ago Joyce joined the Mzuzu Crisis Nursery Team and we are thrilled.  Joyce has a BSN from Howard University in the US.  She is familiar with the area and has contacts everywhere.  And she has a wonderful way about her. Anna was here for Joyce’s first week of orientation and now she has moved on to Lilongwe to share her skills with Ministry of Hope’s Mobile Medical Clinic.  Joyce is here functioning in a most efficient, competent and pleasant way.

Far be it from us to comprehend the ways of the Lord.  But from everything we can discern, our new nurse is what can best be described as a God-send!

Alesi

The hospital said that her mother died 3 days after childbirth. The reason? Anemia caused by repeated cases of malaria. This is the all-too-familiar tale that we receive from social welfare workers when they ask us to rescue a baby. Maternal death rates here are very high. Infant survival rates without the mother are very low. Fortunately the Nursery had a space, so we took Alesi in.

Alesi weighed a mere 4lb. 8 oz. at birth and even less (4 lb. 1 oz.) when she was admitted to the Nursery. She was 9 days old when she arrived at our door— jaundiced, lethargic, and virtually unable to suck. “Sleepy” said her caretaker. So, instead of providing the vigilant care needed for such an at-risk infant, the caretaker just let her sleep.

We fed Alesi an ounce of formula every hour. Nevertheless, she became weaker and weaker and was still unable to suck. We were feeding her with an eyedropper, but dishearteningly, she became unable to swallow. Our only option was take her to the hospital. There, she got a feeding tube and IV antibiotics for the sepsis that was slowly killing her. She stayed in the hospital for a week, struggling for her life. We were very worried because Alesi wasn’t gaining any weight. Fortunately we discovered that her IV had been clogged for 2 days and no one had noticed! Once the drip was finally re-started, she tolerated her feedings and the tube was eventually removed. After 9 days in the hospital Alesi was discharged weighing the same as when we got her—4 lbs 1 oz. However, she did appear to be doing slightly better. She was weak, but well.

Back at the Nursery we started feeding her with a tiny cup as she was still too weak to suck. She was assigned a special nanny devoted to her care, feeding her every hour and keeping her isolated from the other babies to protect her from infection.

Slowly, slowly, Alesi got stronger. Still, I was doubtful about her survival, worrying over every little thing that happened. She got bloody diarrhea, an infection on her scalp, and was still incredibly vulnerable. But she grew stronger, ate better, and finally gave up the cup to go for the nipple on the bottle.

Today Alesi finally broke the 3 kg mark (6 lb 6 oz). She sucks her bottle well. She kicks and looks around and is getting cheeks (in both places). She looks like a survivor. We will move her into a regular baby room with 4 roommates today.

Alesi is a success story of the best kind. Whenever I get discouraged I go into her room and peek at her soft and growing frame. Alesi gives me hope. 

Pictured with Alesi is visitor Rebekah Heller