“I just pray that my baby will get well, grow up like the rest of my children and later on become independent,” says Naomi’s mother.
Meet Naomi, a newborn baby girl from Tanzania. Naomi is the youngest of five and according to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), “She feeds well but cries whenever she is lifted up or moved.”
Naomi cries more often than other newborns because she has myelomeningocele with hydrocephalus. As AMHF explains, “Naomi has an open lesion on her lower back which is leaking cerebral spinal fluid [CSF]. If not treated, Naomi is at risk of contracting infection and causing bigger problems.”
AMHF continues, “Naomi’s mother works very hard as a small scale farmer. She lost her husband a few months after conceiving so she is the one taking care of the whole family. Her financial situation is currently not good given that she cannot do anything to earn some money because she has a newborn who is also not well. She relies on her relative to support her.”
$1,100 will fund treatment for Naomi. AMHF explains that after treatment, “Naomi will not lose CSF from her lower back anymore, she will be out of risk of contracting infection and with extensive physiotherapy she may have the ability to use her lower limbs.”
Let’s help Naomi and her mother access the healthcare Naomi needs.
