Today is Mother's Day in North America.
I want to take a moment to wish all of you mother's a very happy and special day.
If you are a child or grown child and still have a mother I hope you will make a time to let her know how much you appreciate what she has done for you. Not everyone has that opportunity and not every one has a good mom but many are very blessed to have had a good and loving mother.
I was fortunate to be blessed with a very loving mother. One who took her responsibilities of love, care, concern and guidance for her family and other people very seriously. I was never unsure about mother's care and protection and she did her very best for all her children and for the children of others. For these blessings, I am very grateful.
She is now in the twilight years of her life and unable to do much. Even so she still tries to think of others and show them she cares. Mostly though I now take care of her with the help of my youngest brother. My nephew (my departed sister's son) also cherishes his grandmother as she helped to raise him. Even though he is very busy he tries to make time to lift her spirits and give her the motivation to keep on living.
Mother's Day seems to be an appropriate time to let you know about Baby Fidelis and her mother who live in Kenya.
Mothers who live and toil in developing countries have it so hard. This family is of very humble means and the mother finds it difficult to find work to care for her child but she does the best she can.
In Kenya when you have a disabled child, people become very suspicious of you.
Not only do you have to worry about how to take care of your child with limited means and no government support system but you have to contend with whispers, ridicule and accusations for people still think that you have been cursed or involved in witchcraft somehow and that is why your child is born with a disability.
Parents often hide their children and lock them away out of sight due to the stigma but also sometimes to protect them from others.
Mothers who live and toil in developing countries have it so hard. This family is of very humble means and the mother finds it difficult to find work to care for her child but she does the best she can.
In Kenya when you have a disabled child, people become very suspicious of you.
Not only do you have to worry about how to take care of your child with limited means and no government support system but you have to contend with whispers, ridicule and accusations for people still think that you have been cursed or involved in witchcraft somehow and that is why your child is born with a disability.
Parents often hide their children and lock them away out of sight due to the stigma but also sometimes to protect them from others.
Baby Fidelis was born with a defect called large frontal growth (Encephalocele). This is a rare disorder that occurs in about 1 in 5000 births worldwide. If the child has surgery soonest, she has a better chance of recovery and normal development.
As you can see from her photos below this growth is very large and she needs surgery urgently.
She is expected to undergo reconstruction surgery in Canada but first the family advocate in Kenya is trying to raise the funds needed for several of them to travel to Canada and remain and live in Canada while the child undergoes surgery and recovers.
Can you help?
Just think if this was your baby or your grandchild, what would you do to help her?
Her mother is very poor and believe me if she could fly to Canada now on her own means she would gladly do it.
But she needs our help.
They are SO CLOSE to having the needed funds to undertake the travel.
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| Baby Fidelis with her mother & family advocate, Joseph Wanjau, Hope Foundation |
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Time is of the essence and we need to do what we can now, not next week or the week after.
As the growth gets bigger it creates more pressure in the head for this young child.
Thank you for reading and responding.
