So I decided that it is 10 times easier to write a blog than it is to update 100 different people at once about what is going on in Malawi. Sooo, I finally gave in. Anyway, I decided to write my first post about a beautiful little girl named Maria.
Maria is a baby, a little over a year, who lives at the Crisis Nursery. For those of you that don't know what the Crisis Nursery (Crisis) is, it's a nursery that caters to malnourished children. Most of the babies in the nursery have lost at least one, if not both, parents. In Malawi formula to feed a baby is really expensive, so if something happens to the mother during child birth (which seems to happen in way to many cases), the father simply can't afford to buy formula to feed the child.
I have been going to Crisis about once a week for a while now. I have fallen in love with so many of the children there, Maria was just one of the many. Crisis does such an amazing job taking care of children who if it weren't there, probably wouldn't be around anymore. It is such an amazing organization and one that I wish I could do more to help. I wish I had all the money in the world to give to these beautiful babies. I wish I had all day every day free so I could go and play with and cuddle and love on all the little ones that live there. I am however, very blessed to be able to take care of one of the little ones this weekend. Maria is staying on ABC campus because she is sick. While she is being nursed back to health, she is staying at my house for the weekend. And I have fallen head over heels for this little girl.
In Malawi, everyone is required to carry a health passport book. Optimally this health passport is supposed to have all of your health information in it, so every doctor that you see will be well versed on what health conditions you may have or illnesses you have had in the past. (Its really actually a pretty cool idea, I think!) Health passports sometimes also have family history in them, so I was able to get to know a little bit about Maria's past. She is the first born in her family, and her mom died the day she was born. Her dad can't afford to buy formula for her, so he brought her to Crisis. This story, or ones like it, are all too common in Malawi. Maria's dad says that when she is able to eat solid food, he will come and get her. Lets hope that this is the case, and that he will be able to provide a safe, happy, and healthy home for her. There is nothing more important in someones life, especially a child's, than family and a safe home.
It breaks my heart to read about Maria's life so far. She just past a year old, and she has already had to deal with so much. She is the cutest, sweetest little girl, and she should have someone to love her all the time. Someone to look after her always. She should have a stable environment to live in. Crisis is doing a phenomenal job keeping babies alive, but there are so many of them there, that its hard for each child to get all the love and attention they need and deserve.
God loves and has a plan for each and everyone of us. I know He loves Maria, and every other child at Crisis, dearly. I just wish I could show each and every one of those children just how much He loves them.
Please pray for Maria, and every child at Crisis. Pray that they know how much they are loved. Pray that they will find a home, if they can't go back to their own. Pray for their safety and health. And pray that they will understand just how much God loves them.
Thanks for reading, I will update again soon,
Danie
