Reaching out and listening to the ideas of people facing adversity is one of our core strategies. If we give them the dignity to speak, we may discover simple solutions to the most pressing challenges facing them.
Today our founder and Director, Ivan Ssewankambo, together with his wife Prossy Ssewankambo reached out to an HIV infected young mother whose life has been on the edge of death.
When you get to hear Lydia’s story (infected young mother), it brings tears. She learnt that she was infected two months before giving birth to her beautiful daughter Esther who is two months old now at the age of 18 years. Her mother died when she was still young as well her father also died when she was 2 years. So after her relatives knowing that she was infected, they abandoned her and the only thing they waited for was her death.She had been living with her one of her friends whom she calls her aunt “Irene”. From here, that’s when our Papa Ivan and the wife Mama Prossy found out about this needy young mother. They have been providing milk and some other support to Lydia’s daughter since she could not breast feed from her mother.
Two month before giving birth, she went to hospital to check her as she was not feeling good and to her surprise she was found that she had both HIV and TB (Tuberculosis) and was put on both HIV and TB drugs , later on 01/ September/2016 she gave birth to her beautiful daughter. From that time her body/ health became so weak and with her immune system getting low day by day until this week’s Monday Evening around 01/November/2016 when her situation became unbearable and her aunt “Irene” took her to a hospital where she was taking her ARVs from but they failed to work on her since her condition was critical so they had to refer her to Mulago National Referral Hospital. Here her condition went beyond, she couldn’t talk or eat and the doctors doing everything possible to save her life.
After Admission at around 07:00PM Monday 01/November/2016, her aunt was told not to bring baby Esther (baby child) near her mother since she was being taken to HIV and TB (Infectious Diseases Hospital ward) and doctors added on saying that its was so dangerous for the baby to be with the mother in that critical/ risky condition as the baby could easily catch TB or other infectious diseases from both the mother and other patients within the ward.
So Yesterday 02/November /2016 Ivan and Prossy went to visit Lydia after their tough night receiving phone calls from both Lydia’s Aunt (Irene) and the doctors to come and rescue the baby as Irene had already told them about Vangrace Compassion Ministries’ Previous support that was being rendered to the mother before admission. By the time of their arrival at the hospital, Lydia’s aunt told them that Lydia was back from a tough condition she was in and now she could speak as well as recognize people around her. The first thing Prossy did was to feed the child as she was so hungry and crying. After feeding the child, they had to visit the mother where she was. Reaching where she was, she was just looking around but had a smile seeing Ivan and Prossy not related to her coming to visit her and caring for her child there after Lydia humbly asked Pastor Ivan Ssewankambo and Mama Prossy Ssewankambo if they could foster her baby until she recovers of which both Papa Ivan and Mama Prossy fully accepted with open arms.
Our surprise was, when her aunt came to say goodbye to Ivan and Prossy, she said “I have left Lydia smiling and says she feels relieved after you accepting to foster and look after her baby.
But in all, we are praying for her daily so that she recovers and gets a chance of seeing her sweet baby again. And we believe that God can heal her completely.
