This is Frankie’s Story from Cameroon.
In January 2010, Franky was eighteen months old when his mother brought him to the health clinic in Esseng, a village located 60km from the nearest town in a very rural area. An Italian priest had built a school, church and clinic in Esseng fifty years earlier. However, there were no people to work in the clinic for over twenty years. Sr. Ewa and two other sisters started working there over eleven years ago.
When Sr. Ewa met the mother and child she saw a child seriously malnourished and a mother who was extremely worried. Franky was only 4kg in weight, half of what he should be. Sr. Ewa gave the mother the necessary food for a month in order to build up Franky’s strength and the mother’s strength. They returned a month later and Sr. Ewa encouraged them to “take the test”. This was the test to see if the mother and child were hiv-positive. Unfortunately, both were positive and thankfully Sr. Ewa was able to give them the antiretrival treatment.
Four months later when mother and child returned to the clinic the child weighed over 8kg. No longer did the child have that skeleton-look and his physical improvement was a source of encouragement. Since then Franky has been growing from strength to strength and the latest photo was taken in October 2011 and Franky stands proud and is dressed in a suit.
Thanks to all the ALMAS friends for their generous and loving support that have helped this mother and child and thousands of others to survive.