The future was not looking at all bright for baby Rejoice when we met her 10 months ago. Yet, with the help of Open Arms' Community-Based Care Programme, today she is a happy and healthy one year old who is growing up within the love and security of her family home.
Orphaned, malnourished and extremely vulnerable, Rejoice was referred to Open Arms at 3 months old, weighing a tiny 3.4kg. She was born prematurely by emergency c-section, tragically losing her mother during the delivery.
Determined to honour her sister and keep her family together, Rejoice’s aunt stepped in to take on her care, as well as that of Rejoice’s six-year-old sister. But as a single mother of three who relies on piecework and small harvests from her garden to provide for her family, she couldn’t possibly afford the milk and other essentials a new-born requires to grow and develop healthily.
Rejoice soon started to deteriorate and was at serious risk. Her aunt was reduced to spending all day begging for milk to keep her niece alive.
Stories like this are all too common in Malawi, which is why Open Arms exists - and why we have evolved and expanded our services to help families just like Rejoice's out of their desperate situation.
As perfect candidates for Community-Based Care, Social Welfare directed them for referral and they were immediately placed on the programme.
With expert advice, regular support visits and lifesaving supplies, Rejoice's aunt is now more than able to raise Rejoice in her home without worrying about her health and development being compromised and has been released and empowered to care for the rest of her family, as well as her garden.
Fast forward to today and Rejoice (now 13 months old) is growing and developing beautifully and – crucially – is known, loved and supported by her own family.
The benefits for her will be lifelong - protecting not just her health and wellbeing, but her sense of belonging and identity and giving her the chance of reaching her future potential.
As well as providing essentials for Rejoice, Open Arms have equipped her aunt to grow banana suckers on her land, which are growing well and should start producing fruit by the end of the year.
This will not only provide extra food for the family, but generate a reliable source of income (bananas are very easy to grow and sell in Malawi) that will see them well on their way to self-sufficiency in the future.
Rejoice’s is just one of near 40 families now benefitting from Community-Based Care. One of 40 families where their story could have been so heartbreakingly different, but instead is full of hope and potential!
Please share this story and donate today, so together we can reach even more families in need.
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