HIV+ 5 year old girl in need of immediate assistance: will you respond?



 

Fitsum Girma and her baby brother Fekadu

Fitsum Girma is a new child to the BCI child sponsorship program. She has been in the program for 3 months and the family has lived in the home they are living in for one year. This family is in desperate need of immediate action as the 5 year old's health depends on it. Fitsum is HIV+ as are her mom and her dad. Her little 3 year old brother, Fekadu, who is not in the program so far has miraculously escaped the disease. Fitsum is small for her age due to malnutrition. The last time the social worker came to visit and upon registration, the tiny girl was so weak she could not move. Today she was fairly active and a curious little girl. The mom says the difference is she started taking the HIV medication.

Worka, their mom, washes clothes for a living and their dad, Girma, is a daily laborer. They live in an unfinished house for free serving as a guard until it is finished. The living room is bare with only a small twin mattress on the concrete floor that the whole family of four sleeps on. There were no chairs and no bed frames, only a few decorations on the wall and a few metal pots. When the house is finished the approximate cost of monthly rent is 1000 birr or $50 USD, at which point they may need to move out to another home. Currently Fitsum is not sponsored so she is not receiving any benefits from the organization to assist her so she can be as healthy as she can be.

 Right now as you can see from the photo, her leg is wounded and even though she has sought treatment for the leg, the process has been repetitive as it will heal up as she takes medicine for it, but when she finishes the medicine, it returns. The social worker thinks this is a mix of poor hygiene and disease. When she walks and if you watch her, you will notice her leg is slightly bowed out. Girma told us there is a specialist in Nazreth, a good doctor, that if the assistance were to come in she could be seen for more effective treatment.

Amidst her current health concerns, Fitsum will need to start school next year to be on time with other kids her age. She needs assistance immediately. Your donation will provide food for her, education for her, and will help fund her medical needs. The mom may even be able to participate in one of the income generation projects in order to get the training she needs to better provide for her family and thus come off support. Until that day happens, the Girma family needs your help financially and this Orthodox family needs your prayers.