Clinic

Due to the amount of children at LIA who have the “virus”, a hospital in Moshi (largish town near Boma) now sends out a team of doctors and nurses to Tudor Village to handle the kids monthly testing and prescription handouts.

I unfortunately realized immediately why they were testing only certain children – Abby however, came to understand the meaning of the clinic at an inconvenient time, while we were playing with the kids in the make-shift waiting room. I had a few minutes to shove my emotions into that dark place we all have for the time being, Abby regrettably did not.

Realizing that a child, who you’ve come to love over just a few short weeks, was given an incurable disease that (given their circumstances) will more than likely end their precious lives shorter than is fair is incredibly hard to swallow.

I kept thinking – she’s such an amazing kid – funny, beautiful, thoughtful, etc., etc., etc. what if she’s not able to become that changing force for Africa I know she can be? He’s so smart and kind, with a healthy dose of mischief, what if by the time he’s old enough to make a difference, or even have a family of his own, he’s not healthy enough to do so? These children were born with a curse, and I feel like it’s so unfair that it’s their problem to deal with – they are just an innocent victim. Thankfully however, Mama Lynn has made sure they receive their medicine and the doctors are able to keep up with their monitoring and keep them the healthy and vibrant child we know and love.

Abby and I were lucky enough to be able to help out with that aspect as well – financially and with hands-on support. The day after the clinic at Tudor Village, a few of the kids were required to show up at the hospital in Moshi for further testing. So, we, along with one of the Mama’s (i.e. caretaker) took off for Moshi with 8 kids all under 12 years old, including one baby, and one with special needs and a lot of energy  We paid for all eight children to be seen by a doctor, have blood taken, and whatever else they did in the check-up rooms, along with x-rays for two of the kids. Total cost - 27,000 shillings, (which is under 20 dollars), a few boxes of cookies, 4 hours of our time, and priceless memories.