Meet Betsy, Clara and Daisy Amecet.........

May I introduce our 3 Amecet Frisian cows!!!! They are suppose to supply our milk in the future..... As Amecet leadership, we have been looking into generating income activities. We use a lot of money to pay the milk we use daily, so the three cows are the beginning of our income... We shared it with some people and we got the funds to buy the cows and build a stable in the compound of Amun home. This is only for now, the cows Betsy and Clara are pregnant (5+4 months) so our livestock will grow. The extra milk we can sell to a local diary business.

 This is Bosco, (picture above) he takes care of the cows, feed them, cleans the stable and will milk them in the future. Simon is very involved in the whole business, on the picture left,  he is not dressed in his daily Social Worker attire, but he is ready to spray the cows, together with Bosco.

This morning, we took the bigger children to see the cows in Amun. 

We also watched David and Calvin gave the de-worming medicines to 2 of the three watchdogs in Amun. It was easy with the puppy, but our big dog Scooby didn't want the medicines, it was a fight...... Some of the children commented on it, they have also to take their ARV medicines every day, so they told the dog that he shouldn't fight, because it is good for him!!!

We have more plans for the future, to be able to get more income to support our Amecet Ministry. I hope to share about it in the future, for now we are proud of our 3 cows and we hope that they will be a blessing for the Amecet Ministry. Because that is our core business, helping children to shine again!!

Two sick , very small baby's.....

We have two very small baby's, we are a bit worried about. On Feb. 2, I wrote about baby Mary, we got her from the hospital. She was 3 weeks old and her weight was only 1.8 kg. She did well at first, but now she started to get high fevers, some diarrhea. Another very little girl, her mother is HIV+ and very sick, too weak to feed her baby or to care for her. We have brought the little girl to the clinic for testing, but it takes some time to get the results. She is also not doing well and both little girls are on and off on IV fluids and IV medication. On the picture is Deborah, our nurse, connecting the IV fluids again for Pauline. In spite of the IV medication is there still fever...

It is quite busy at the moment, on Friday the Police brought a little girl of maybe 4 years, she was beaten up by her father. Bruises on her face, the father is on the run, the police is looking for him. The girl is now happy, she eats well and loves to play..

Also on Friday, one of the older boys, who was in Amecet before and is in our Harmony school, came very sick asking for help. We took him to the clinic next door, he was prescribed several medicines. But the boy was too weak to go home, so we gave him a bed, and today (Sunday) he is still with us, but he is doing better. He will probably go home tomorrow. Another bigger boy, who also has been in Amecet, came for his ARV medicines in the hospital. We always give him transport money, so we know that they come in time for new medicines. Many of those HIV+ children live with uncles and grandparents, when they have to come for their new medicines, there is not always transport money available for them. We don't want them to miss, so we refund their transport costs. The boy came for the money and went then to town to catch the vehicle, back to his village. But he missed it, they were already gone... So he came back and we gave him also a meal and a bed for the night, he left the next morning.

Simon and Emmanuel went Friday to hang posters in town. In my last blog, I wrote about the boy who was left behind in a taxi. We did radio messages, we placed his picture in the local newspaper and Posters are hanging on several places in town. 

 Yesterday Betty was brought. She has been in Amecet in 2016, went back to her family stable and healthy. Betty is HIV+, but with the ARV's she did well. Yesterday she was brought back by another organization, which works in her village. She lost a lot of weight and is now also on anti TB medication. So we will have her back for some time. She is 13 years old and her weight is 18 kg. Then today, Sunday, a small girl was brought from the village. She is 18 months old and her mother has a mental problem, she refused to feed the baby and wanted to kill her. There was an old lady, who took the baby to care for, but we heard that the lady was drinking a lot and the baby was not cared for. The authorities in the village got concerned and tried to get the relatives to care for her, but nobody wanted this little girl. So they asked our help. Her name is Rebecca and she is a sweet little girl. She is malnourished, but she likes to eat, so that is  a very positive sign. We showered her, fed her and when we lay her in her bed to get some rest, she was not even crying. Most of the children do when they just arrive, everything is new and strange to them, but Rebecca was just laying there and she fell asleep. She is so sweet and cute!

There is a lot going on, please pray for us and all those precious little one's in our care.

Left behind in a taxi.....

I got a phone call from the Police, there was a little boy of maybe 8 months, found in a taxi, left behind by his mother... We went to the Police station and got the little boy. His mother had asked one of the other ladies, sitting in the taxi van, to just hold him, she was going to get something, but she never returned. We got the little boy some hours later, he was hungry and tired, but he didn't cry. it was if he understood that we wanted to help him. Even the first night, he didn't cry. We call him Edward and he is so cute. The first reaction is anger, how can a mother leave her child behind, then you might wonder, what situation is the mother in, how desperate was the mother??

We have done radio messages on the local radio, his picture will come in the local newspaper this week and yesterday, Simon went hanging posters with his picture on some spots where many people pass. Maybe, someone will recognize "Edward"? 

At this moment we have 4 children in Amecet, from  who we don't know any background, no family. We will do all our best in the family tracing, to bring them back where they belong. If that doesn't work out, we will look for a good family for them, to foster and adopt...

Brother and sister in need of help...

 Last week we got a phone call from the health centre in the village. A mother came with a small baby for immunization, the baby was 6 weeks old. But when they saw the baby they felt the baby was in need of intensive help. The baby's weight was only 1.5 kg!!! They called if we could take the baby in Amecet for some time. So they brought the baby that same morning on the motorbike. It was a very small, weak little girl. Quite dark in color, but just skin and bones... The way she looked at you, you knew she was much older that what you would think at first.  So Gorretti was taken in Amecet, wrapped in very good, she was a bit cold... And after some days, she started to drink well, gaining a little bit, we have not seen any sickness than the severe malnutrition....

This week we got another call, from the same health centre...The brother came, he is also malnourished, please could we take him as well. So they brought him also on the motorbike. This is Sam, he is 1.5 years old and his weight is 7 kg. He is also malnourished, but with oedema and he is very, very irritable. When you give him food, he wants it, but then poshes it away, then cries that he wants to eat.... That is how he is. Sleeping in his bed, was a big problem., the first night, but now it goes better. but I haven't seen a smile yet.... We took him to the doctor and he had severe malaria, needed to be treated with IV medication. We talked with the health care person, who brought him on the motorbike, this family needs help, two children so severe malnourished is too much.

But for now, Sam and Gorretti are safe and they will improve.... the family needs also help and counseling.