I went out to greet them and they handed me a bundle of blankets, inside of which was a very tiny baby boy.
I took the bundle to the office, laid it down on my desk and started peeling back the layers. It reminded me of the time in Uganda when a badly burned young girl was brought to us. Her family had wrapped a cloth around her burned arm and a part of me just dreaded taking off that cloth- I was afraid to see the extent of her injury. With this baby I was afraid again.
I finally unwrapped the smallest baby that I had ever seen. His tiny bones were jutting out all over and he was clearly dehydrated and listless. We weighed him and found that he was only 1.5 kg.
His mother had died shortly after his birth and he was left in the case of his two aunties and his father. Initially they had given him formula, but then they ran out of money and had started giving him water. They realized that they needed help and made the trek to our farm. I think the baby was about three weeks old when they first came to us.
I really wasn't sure what to do with a baby that little so I decided to take the family to our nearest hospital, which was about half and hour's drive away, and consult with someone more knowledgeable than I. The nurse we spoke with seemed totally nonplussed by the situation, an attitude which in this case was actually quite relieving. According to the baby's birth record he had only weighed 1kg at birth, so even though he was only 1.5kg, he was gaining weight, and that was a good sign.
We took the family back to their home and they were enrolled right away in our milk program. Because the baby was so tiny they came in for weekly follow up appointments so we could weigh him and make sure that all was well. And all was well! The little guy packed on the weight and started looking so cute and hydrated.
His family asked me to name him, and I named him after my brother: Christopher. In Mozambique (rather, in Portuguese) that looks more like Cristofer. However, he ended up being registered as Cristofa. I liked it. It's a bit gansta, no?
Here he is at just over one month. He had already gained a good amount of weight by this time!
After I left, Lynn was kind enough to send me this picture. Look at those fat cheeks!
Just recently Lynn put these up on her blog. Look at Baby Cris now! He is such a big boy!
And so handsome!
Here he is with his aunt and their new tin of formula. Go, Cris, go!
Cristofa still has a lot of obstacles in front of him. Surviving past the age of five is tricky in countries like Mozambique where preventable and treatable illnesses are still taking such a devastating toll. However, he is plugging along and I am so grateful for that, as well as for his loving family who take such good care of him.
Lynn was also just writing on her blog that they have seen an increase this year in the number of mothers seeking nutritional assistance. If you would like to read about it or if you would like to donate to the milk program, you can find Lynn here.
I highly endorse the program...and so does Cris.
