Clarance is 2 years old and lives near Lake Victoria in Rota, Kenya.  A recent visit to the Humanity for Children Clinic sadly revealed that Clarance has malaria. Although Clarance is being treated with anti-malarial medication, the clinical officer was interested in talking with his mother further about prevention and things to watch out for. Every child seen at the clinic receives a treated malaria net and instructions on its use, thus helping to prevent the spread of this disease.

Vespa, the clinical officer, also teaches parents the warning signs for malaria including: high fever, lethargy, vomiting, aches, etc. She hopes this education will help parents identify problems sonner and thus bring children in earlier for treatment. Untreated malaria causes profound anemia, often rapidly, and is the principal cause of death for these patients. Early treatment and prevention are the mainstays of avoiding poor outcomes. Since HFC sponsored clinical officers have started working at the site, no children have died.

Humanity for Children’s advice is clearly critical for both Clarance and his community.  Thank you for your continued support, and for ensuring that Clarance receives the care he needs!

Ngujelia is an 18 month old child in Gashanda, Rwanda and was diagnosed with an ear infection.

Thanks to your generosity, she received antibiotics from your donation along with multivitamins. Nine other children along with Ngujelia were given the opportunity to see the doctor thanks to your donation. Thank you so much for providing health services that would otherwise be unavailable–it means more than you know, Gauthier!

Jumel, a 9 year old in Gashanda, Rwanda, waits with her mother to see the doctor.  She was treated for a fungal infection and received zinc, multi-vitamins, and was vaccinated.

Your donations of two medical kits helps treat 19 other children like Jumel. Thank you for providing these essential health services, Kristin!

Prenatal care is extremely important in all countries but especially in the developing world. Here Vespa, our clinical officer in Rota Kenya, is counseling Bethe on prenatal needs. Without adequate nutrition, infants are far more likely to be born prematurely or under weight. This in turn makes them more likely to have difficulty perinatally such as trouble breathing or eating. In an area with limited healthcare things such as this which simply need a little TLC in the US can mean certain death in the first few days of life in Kenya. Furthermore, not getting prenatal vitamins can predispose infants to other issues such as spina bifida which can be devastating later on causing problems with walking and incontinence; this can prevent the person from earning a living or even ostracize them from their community.

Vespa gives expecting mothers prenatal vitamins with folate to prevent birth defects and also counsels them on good prenatal nutrition.  She then monitors them during their pregnancy to ensure good weight gain and if issues are found discusses them with the community health workers to help find ways to support their nutrition through village contributions. Elizabeth, your generous support makes this possible. Thank you so much for the care you have provided to Bethe and other mothers like her!

Five year old Adolphe was seen in our clinic in Gashanda, Rwanda, and diagnosed with malaria. He needed to be given medication over a 2 week period to eradicate the disease and is now fully recovered.

Malaria is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and is a major killer of children under 5. This is due to the fact that the malaria parasite invades the red blood cells and lyses them causing profound anemia.

Thank you so much for your donation of 5 medical kits! Thanks to your donation Adolphe and many others like him will not have to suffer this terrible fate.

Three year old Benard was seen in our Gashanda, Rwanda, clinic and was diagnosed with a painful ear infection – it  took a while to get a good look at his ear!

Thanks to your donation, Benard, along with 9 other children, received antibiotics and vitamins to make a speedy recovery, and appreciate that they will not have to return to the doctor’s office anytime soon! Thank you Rany, for your generous gift.

Without a medical officer being available in the area, most families do not have the time or transportation to seek medical care, thus they stay and home and wait to see what happens.   This can often have ominous outcomes.

Everest was seen by our physican at our Gashanda clinic.  He had an interesting worm infection in the skin of his foot.  These worms are spread by unsanitary canditions in the soil and burrow through the soles of the feet.  Upon getting into the blood stream they can migrate to the liver and other organs.  By catching these parasites early, anti-parasitic medications can be prescribed and the infection eradicated before any long term problems are encountered.

Thanks to your donation, a medical officer was within walking distance of Everest’s family and he was taken to the doctor.  He was then transfered to the district hospital where he received IV treament and was able to return home.  Thank you all for your generous support of Humanity for Children and their Clinical Officer! Your donations allowed the team in Gashanda, Rwanda to provide medical care for over 1000 children like Everest!