Mahanaim

I first met Melrose and the Mahanaim Home for disabled children in 2009 when I took Ramatu to live there. Sadly Ramatu passed away last year, but I stay in touch with the home and visit as often as I can.

 

Melrose joined with a UK charity with the intention that a new home would be built to move the children to and Melrose would move with them to be house mother. Unfortunately the relationship fell apart and when most of the children were moved to the new home about eighteen months ago Melrose decided to stay put and carry on running the home in Grafton.

 

The home currently has 17 children with various challenges such as polio, epilepsy, deaf-mute, learning difficulties.........Melrose herself has polio and is confined to a wheelchair.

 

The visit was challenging as the children love to hold hands and cuddle, and they know nothing of Ebola or avoiding body contact. As soon as I walked in the door Tamba came rushing over and before I could stop him he'd attached himself to my legs!!

 

Melrose told me that she is not getting any assistance from the government or other organisations.

 

Apart from their long term conditions the children are well, except for baby John who has malaria and craw-craw (sores on his skin).



Melrose with Baby John and Little Melrose

Three Little Angels

I went to Mahanaim to deliver some rice and received the very sad news that Desmond, Ezekiel and Sallay have passed away.

 



Desmond

Desmond was very sick earlier in the year and had spent some time admitted at the Waterloo Hospital. He was admitted with another child from the home who passed away, and when she died Desmond didn't improve in hospital so was discharged with instructions on how to care for him at home.

 

I was saddened but not surprised to hear that he had died as he really was very sick the last time I saw him.

 

The only photo of Desmond I have to hand is this one taken when he was sick.

 









Sallay

Sallay was one of the children that moved to the new home in Rogbere last  September, so I don't really know what happened with her yet.

 

The last time I saw her she seemed healthy.

 

Sallay didn't talk or communicate much, but she loved cuddles and was very affectionate..

 

She loved to play with balloons and bubbles and would always choose a yellow balloon if she could.

 







Ezekiel

Ezekiel, oh how I loved this little boy!

 

He couldn't use his arms so he would pick anything and everything up with his feet. He would always pinch my flipflops and try to wear them even though they were massive on him.

 

He had very bad scarring to his head from when he had been locked in a room and the room set on fire when he was a baby.

 

He was beautiful and his smile would light up the room.

 

He had a seizure a couple of weeks ago and died.

 

Abibatu

Abi

If you've visited Mahanaim you might have met Abibatu, she doesn't live there, but she takes care of some of the young ones.

Abi passed away yesterday giving birth to twins, one of the babies died as well. the remaining baby is tiny but healthy and the family are deciding who is going to bring him up.

I saw her husband today and he is devastated. Everyone at the home is deely shocked and terrbily upset about losing Abi.
 

I don't know what else to say......it's so very very sad.

Ramatu April 2012

Ramatu has had a good month, she has had very few fits and is continuing to get stronger. Her speech is also getting better. When we visited with the last team she joined in with the singing and the last few times I have visited days she seems to be mingling more with the other children. She still isn't well enough to go back to school, but she seems much happier recently than she has for a long time.

Ramatu

This is Ramatu, the girl with epilepsy who was abandoned in Kissy back in 2008. As well as the epilepsy she has also been diagnosed with Sickle Cell.

She has had a difficult year and has been hospitalised a couple of times, but at the moment she is doing quite well - she is hoping that she will be able to get strong enough to return to school.



Ramatu - March 2012



Ramatu - What a Difference!

Ramatu - Looking Great!

I popped in to see how Ramatu is doing yesterday and it was like seeing a completely different girl! As I approached the house she was sitting outside in a wheelchair and as I got closer I could see straightaway that she was much better than when I saw her last week - she had a great big smile on her face!!

The change to her epilepsy medication means that her fits are under control again - both Ramatu and Melrose (the lady who runs the home) told me that she hadn't had a fit for 3 days. Her sores are healing up nicely and her strength is coming back.

Me with Ramatu

Max, my friend who runs the Epilepsy Association for Sierra Leone, is going to monitor Ramatu and also contact a Sickle Cell Society to find out how she can be helped in that area and also to make sure that any treatment won't react badly with her epilepsy treatment

I'm thrilled that she is so much better and so thankful to Melrose for taking such good care of her.

Ramatu even told me yesterday that she wants to go back to school!!