Every day, Open Arms provides essential care for Malawi’s at-risk children, helping them survive their early years and then supporting their return home so that they can grow up to thrive within the love and security of their family homes.
Triza did not have an easy start to life, but thanks to Open Arms' intervention and with the help of your support, her future will be very different!
This is her story so far.
Triza was welcomed at Mangochi Infant Home in May 2019. The sixth child of a single mother with significant mental health problems, she was brought in by a local Social Welfare Officer because her mother had no proper shelter and spent most of her time moving up and down the area with Triza on her back.
Triza’s exact date of birth is unknown as she had no hospital documents, but it was thought that she looked around 7 months old upon arrival at Open Arms, despite weighing a mere 5kgs.
Very much underweight, she was immediately placed on an intensive nutritional programme for 6 weeks until her acute malnutrition was resolved.
Over the next few months at Open Arms, Triza began to regain her health and strength. Her weight nearly doubled, she started sitting without support, reaching for toys without falling over, learning to crawl and recognising the sound of her name.
As more time passed, she began to walk, could feed herself, her speech developed, as did her fine motor and social skills.
Although Triza was slower to reach various developmental milestones as a result of the malnutrition she suffered from as a baby, over time - and with lots of love, care and stimulation from her dedicated caregivers - she caught up in her development (and also started to smile and laugh a lot more!)
Open Arms works closely with local Social Welfare Officers to support the return of healthy toddlers to their families.
Regular visits from family members to the Infant Homes are strongly encouraged to strengthen bonds and ensure the child's eventual transition home will be as smooth and successful as possible. Triza was often visited by her grandparents, who were absolutely delighted with her development. They were thrilled to have her return home to them in October 2020.
To ensure Triza continued to thrive at home, she was placed under Open Arms' Community Outreach Programme, which offers regular monitoring, tailored advice and support according to each families' specific needs. This can include food, agricultural packs, medication and other essentials such as mosquito nets, clothing and soap.
In Triza's case, her grandfather sadly suffered a stroke and was not able to provide for the family. So with the help of sponsorship, they were also placed on the cash transfer scheme for a time to boost their income until her grandmother could grow her own business.
Since returning home, Triza has progressed well in all areas, has developed a very close relationship with her grandmother and is now fully integrated into her community.
She has learnt her mother tongue, has a good understanding of and respect for cultural customs (such as kneeling to greet village elders), has embraced the local food, made lots of friends and is a happy, helpful member of her household and village.
Last year Triza also started attending Nursery School, which she loves so much, she even asks to go to on the weekends! This access to early years education is incredibly beneficial - not just for her cognitive, social and emotional development but for future success in primary and secondary education, which will give her every chance at achieving her full potential in life.
Most of the children who are referred to Open Arms, like Triza, are highly vulnerable, malnourished, sometimes traumatised and in desperate need of love and care.
But thankfully, because of your incredible support and the hard work and dedication of the team in Malawi, the story doesn't end there.
In the last 22 years, we've helped over 1,000 children like Triza survive their infancy, return home and continue to thrive. And with your support, we can keep helping many more.
If you would like to join with us to help children like Triza, please consider sponsoring a child or making a regular or one-off donation today to support our vital work.
Because every child has a right to survival and development and deserves the chance of a brighter future.
Thank you!
Your donation will help children in Malawi grow up healthy with the love of a family
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