We wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy, New Year
we would like to wish everyone a merry christmas and a happy, healthy new year from us all at orphans in the wild (UK) and and foxes community & wildlife conservation trust (foxesngo) Tanzania
On 2nd October, we were very excited to welcome Dr. Leena Pasanen, our volunteer doctor back to Mufindi, the Children’s Village were delighted to see her again. Dr Leena spends six months of the year in Mufindi and then returns to her home in Finland. Her Finnish friends raised funds for her to buy clothing and shoes for the children. On the 15th another volunteer, Dr. Alex, joined her and they have spent many hours during remote outreach visits, covering many miles, treating patients in their own homes.
One gentleman, a single parent of two children had broken his hip, they had an inflatable splint which they applied, wrapped him tightly with his mattress to prepare him for the arduous one hour trip along some very rough roads to the nearest hospital.
They have also carried out thorough health checks of all the children at the Baby House.
Hearing Mama Blantina had fractures of both lower legs in August, they paid her a visit and were delighted to see that she has at last started walking with the help of her zimmer frame. She has had the plaster casts on for 10 weeks. Blantina is an amazing lady, she suffers from Osteogenosis Imperfecta. She is classed as a hero in the village, when she was younger she looked after 10 orphans, encouraged people to be tested for HIV/Aids, to keep up to date with their retesting and drugs needed to improve their lives and always around to help those in need. Blantina also makes and sells baskets to earn a little money. She is loved and admired by all.
Sam Sofya, our volunteer dentist, arrived in November and soon set to work checking and treating patients in need of dental treatments, ably assisted by Mama Upendo. He is very popular and a great support to those in the area and to us at the Children’s Village.
huge thanks to everyone who has helped and supported us this year. we cannot do this without you!
Also thanks to our amazing staff who look after the Children’s Village with love, care and compassion.
“This is Sijali Kitalika, our nurse at Igoda Children’s Village, as she was conducting seminar to the house mamas on how to provide the First Aid to the children who might suddenly have health issue before sending them to the hospital. Important matters to this seminar were wound care, steps to help a child falling from different levels of epilepsy and how to help a child who is frequently vomiting and diarrhoea leading to dehydration.”
“In May, we received a request from Kidete village for this baby, Kefa Patrick Kigulu, to receive custody here at the Children’s Village. This is due to the serious sickness of the mother who currently can’t breast feed. As this family has five other children at home with their father taking care of their mama, he finds he cannot cope and asked for help. So Kefa will be staying at the Igoda Children’s Village until such time that his father is able to have him back, when the Mama recovers. The photo here is shown with his sister.”
“Flora, a little baby girl who joined our Milk Powder service from the Outreach Program as the result of her mother having fungal infection in her breasts causing her to stop feeding her baby. The help request was received when she was 3 months old as the family couldn’t afford to buy 6 cans of milk powder which would have cost them more than 108,000/- Tsh (£38) every month. 6 months later we were informed her mother died and there was no option for her to stay at her family home. We received a request from the Village Child Committee for the baby to receive custody at the Igoda Children’s Village. Flora has been at the CV since June 2019 and is settling in very well.”
Manuse, standing, arrived at the CV after being found still attached to his mother who had passed away in a field trying to get to hospital in December 2017. As you can see he is a healthy little boy who has made friends with Fransisco who came to live at the Baby House too in January 2019. Unfortunately, his mother had passed away too. These two have bonded and are inseparable. It is very rewarding to see how all these children are flourishing. This is all thanks to our lovely supporters and amazing House Mamas, without whom they wouldn’t be able to be loved and cared for.
Gloria had her Cleft Palate and Lip Surgery on 10th April 2019! She gained the desired weight of over 10kgs which has been quite difficult, besides enjoying her food and having a healthy appetite, she has a malabsorption problem so it has taken her a long time to gain the weight needed. Her operation has been a success and returned home with House Mama Salome on Wednesday 17th April looking amazing. She will soon heal and start a new life of eating and breathing so much easier! She still had her stitches in this photo.
Gloria was born on 1st June 2016 and arrived at the Igoda Children’s Village three weeks later weighing less than 3kgs. Her mother has intellectual challenges, making her unable to care for her baby and she couldn’t feed well enough, the father is not involved in Gloria’s life. She had a cleft lip and partial cleft palate that extended slightly into her nasal cavity, making activities such as eating and breathing difficult for her. At the Children’s Village, Gloria was given round the clock care and gradually her health improved.
After a very successful appeal to replace Hezron’s Wheelchair, he was taken to the CCBRT Hospital in Dar-es-Salaam accompanied by Maneno Kalinga, his full-time carer and Joseph, his House Father, Social Welfare Officer and Counsellor, where a team met up with him, assessed his disabilities, gave him some physiotherapy and fitted him for his wheelchair. See the video below of his first attempt to manoeuvre his chair which is very moving when you see his smile spread from ear to ear!
with his friends and other pupils from the CV where he can participate in activities to improve his hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. Maneno, performs physiotherapy exercises with him regularly and each month he is taken to the Mdabulo Care and Treatment Clinic (CTC) where he receives medication. Hezron will always have a home at The Igoda Children’s Village where he is relaxed and has many friends.
