New Beginnings at Amecet Children’s Home
After a season of transition, we are grateful to reconnect with all our friends, supporters, and partners through our blog once again.
Transition leadership
Els van Teijlingen has officially retired from Amecet. After 24 years of faithful service and 100% dedication to the children of Soroti and the surrounding area, it's time to return to the Netherlands.
Amecet has still an important role to play in Teso region..
In the last blog, I wrote about Francis, a little premature baby. Francis went to be with Jesus... It was sad to let him go, we have fought for his life till the end, but we couldn't safe him. He was 2 weeks with us and also 2 weeks old. His mother had died after the delivery, which had happened in the village. We bought a small coffin and drove to the village of the grandparents. They received the coffin and we gave a report from aal that had happened. They had not been to Amecet to visit Francis, because they live far, deep in the village. They were grateful for the help we gave and would bury Francis next to his mother. When we drove back to Soroti, I was thinking about all the children who had died in Amecet, during the last 24 years... There have been many... and quite a number died in my arms. I have cried over all the children we had to let go. We always wanted life for them and we did everything to help them, but for those children we were a doorway to Heaven. We knew that they would be safe in His arms, no more pain, no more rejection, no more medicines or injections. Francis is with Jesus now.
14 new children in the last 3 weeks..
Baby Francis, here on the picture, is one of them. A little boy, who was brought by his uncle. He was born that very morning at home. His mother died after giving birth. She was multiple handicapped, mentally and she was also blind and deaf. Nobody knows who the father is of this little boy. His weight was 1.3 kg. and he was feeling cold, so he was put in the incubator. He is now a week with us and he is doing a bit better, we have to feed him with a NG tube, because he is too weak to drink himself.
My last Ugandan Visa !!!!!!!
After being 28 years in Uganda, more than 15 Visa's (tourist, work permit, residence visa and special pass), I received this morning my last one!! I feel mixed about it, happy that I don't have to go to immigration again and not to have to pay a lot of money every time, but `sad that this part of my life, here in Uganda, is almost over.. The cup of coffee definitely helps a lot!!
Rescued from the pitlatrine...
Last week , the police brought a newborn baby to Amecet. This baby was rescued from a pit latrine. A pit latrine is a toilet, it is a deep pit, with a small building build on it. The baby was found around 5am, but it took some hours to break the little building to get the baby out. The baby was rushed to the hospital, where the first aid was given, cleaned and the baby was brought to Amecet.. The baby had been thrown into the pit, together with the placenta, in the hospital they had cut the cord. The baby was cold and had problems with breathing. He had all kind of rashes; his eyes were swollen.
Een nieuw bericht van Amecet...
July was a month with assessments and report writing.. On this picture you can see our Management committee. Every registered children's Home in Uganda has a Management committee. In our committee is the Probation Officer from Soroti District and the Probation Officer from Soroti City, The Mayor from Soroti City West, The health inspector and the Health Officer and then our Amecet leaders team. We had our 6 monthly meeting. It was also time for our 6 monthly report to the Ministry of Gender, Labour and Social Development, this time, together with a report of Probation Office and a report of the health inspector. We got a lot of inspectors checking Amecet. Everything went well and every inspection was good. So a good report went to Kampala.
Chickenpox in Amecet...
Robbert was the first victim, and he was just doing so well, gaining, happy and playing.. He is feeling miserable now. Chickenpox might be a normal childhood sickness for many of us, but for malnourished children with a low immunity, it can be a killer. When I heard in the morning, a couple of days ago, when I arrived in Amecet, that we had 3 children with chickenpox, my heart almost stopped. And my mind went back to 2005, when we had a chickenpox outbreak in Amecet. Many children got it and also some of the aunties. Two children died because of the chickenpox, both children were HIV+ and new in Amecet, they were very, very weak and this sickness was just too much for them.
Children with hydrocephalus asking for help..
We have a steady flow of people who come at our door for help, some come to ask for transport money back to the village. They were admitted in the hospital and discharged, but no money anymore to travel back to their village. Other people come for reading glasses, which we receive to give out to people. Sometimes people come for help to buy medicines which are prescribed by the doctor and there is also a group of mothers who come with their child who is suffering from hydrocephalus (water in the head). Sometimes the heads are huge and very heavy to carry. The mothers are struggling so much, they come with the baby to Amecet for help, it is very hard to carry the child, they have to be very careful with supporting the head, which is too heavy for the neck.
7 new small children in 1 week...
Sarah was the first baby, who was brought, she was born 2 months too early and her weight was only 1.1 kg. She was laid in our new incubator, which we just received from a Dutch foundation: Verenigde Hoop. We had to feed her by a NG tube, because she was too weak to drink.. She is now 9 days with us and she is doing good, she has gained a little and looks alert. Sarah was born by a caesarean operation and the mother died, due to multi organ failure after the operation. The very sad thing was that Sarah was part of twins, the other baby was a still born and already deteriorated when the baby was taken out. Sarah was brought from a hospital, by ambulance.
Continuation on "Corruption in the Village".....
In the blog of two weeks ago, I wrote about baby Paul, who was abandoned by his mother. And how one of the local leaders, the situation used to get richer himself. We had been hanging posters around the area and one of the uncles recognised the baby on the picture.
The rains have started....
When the rains are coming, people start to plough their gardens.... After a couple of months of drought, the land is dry and sandy, but even after one good rain shower, the new grass is coming out and when you thought that there was nothing growing, it was all dry and soil, you are every time again so surprised what there is all hiding in the ground... The ground is green again and the plants are growing....
Anna was brought back to her village...
Normally, I am very excited when children go back home, but this time I am worried and sad... Anna was brought by the Police to Amecet in October 2021. She was malnourished, had a lot of scars and was not happy. Can you imagine, how would you feel when you mother puts both of your hands in the fire, only because you were hungry and took some sunflower seeds without asking first.... She was already treated and the wounds were almost closed.
The story of Deborah...
Deborah was brought to Amecet on 2/9/'22. She was brought by her uncle and a staff of a healthcare centre in the village. Again a sad story, Deborah's mother is HIV+ and she has a mental problem. Nobody knows who is the father of Deborah. The uncle, (he is a cousin of her mother) tries to care for the mother and also for Deborah. Deborah is 15 months old, she can't walk, not even stand by her self. She is malnourished (her weight is 6.2 kg.) she is weak and she is aneamic. She is a sad little girl, very quiet, she doesn't cry and she doesn't laugh... she is just there..... It took a lot of work to get a smile from her, she is really a child that touches your heart.
We got two new little girls this week.....
The first baby was brought on Tuesday, by Simon, our social worker. He got a phone call from the Police, to come to the hospital to get a baby who was in danger. The mother of this little girl has a mental problem and was trying to strangle the baby. People around her took the child, but she was wild and the Police was called. The mother ran away and the baby was brought to Amecet.. She is a big baby, her weight is 8 kg. and we think that she is 3 or 4 months old. Feeding was not easy, she was used to breastfeeding, we think. The next day Simon tried to get more details about the mother, but she was not admitted in the hospital, the police had brought her there to be admitted in the mental unit, but she escaped before they could take her details.. Then he got a phone call that the mother was spotted somewhere in Soroti, together with the Police he went to see her. And they found her.... she was wild again, but could answer questions, she told him that the baby's name was Immaculate and that she was 3 months old. She could also tell them, where she came from and after some discussion, Simon and the Police decided to bring her home (1 hour drive) on this way, they could also meet her relatives, which is important to know when the mother disappears again and the baby will have a family.. Immaculate is drinking well now and smiling a lot. We wait and see what is going to happen with the mother, who also needs help. Please pray for the relatives, that they will take care of the mother and that she will be able to pick up and care for her little girl.
Two abandoned little girls find their new family!!
Regularly, the police brings children to Amcet. The children are found somewhere, left behind by their relatives, somewhere...... In December 2021, a little girl was brought. She was left behind in a village church... We gave her the name Esther. Our Social workers did all they could. They traveled to the church, talked with the people there, hang Posters with the picture of Esther, we made radio announcements, we put her picture in the local newspaper twice..... But nobody reacted, no relative, no neighbour, nobody...... In the meantime Esther was growing, started to play, reacted to the aunties and started to walk...... She is a little naughty, adorable girl, who really needed a family where she belongs...
Hellen goes back home....walking.......
It was a good day, today we brought Hellen back home. She was brought to Amecet in February, very severe malnourished. She had oedema in her legs, arms and face. They told us that she had never walked, she was called "the lame of the village". Water oozed out of the legs, she was very irritated and had a lot of pain. Of course we took Hellen to the doctor, she had infection, needed blood transfusion and a protein rich diet. She didn't talk (yet) and was not easy to please...
John went to his Eternal Home....
John was brought to Amecet in October 2022. Again a sad story, his father died before John was born and his mother died 2 weeks after the delivery. He was a total orphan. He had lost weight in those two weeks and had an infection. The doctor started him on I.V. medication. He didn't want to drink, vomited a lot and had a bad cough. We struggled from the beginning with his health. John hardly gained and was very skinny and weak. We took him to several doctors, a lot of tests were done, HIV, sickle cell, a brain scan was done and a chest X-ray. We went to two paediatricians in Soroti, but all those tests came back negative. We didn't get a real cause for his "failure to thrive".
Abandoned (continuation)
On April 4 I wrote a blog about some children who were abandoned by their mothers, we have some good news about two of them and I start with the baby on the picture. He is around 5 months old, we gave him the name Peter and he was left behind in the hospital, with a not. You can read the note in the previous blog. Our Social workers have worked hard on this case. We made posters and hang them in the hospital. We did announcements over the local radio and we placed a message in the local newspaper.
Abandoned.......
At this moment we have 8 children in Amecet, who are abandoned, most by their mother, but some also by their families, after the mother was taken into Police custody (for child abuse) or when the mother passed away.. Our social workers try to find the relatives or search among the relatives for a safe home to resettle the child. If that is not working out, the Probation Officer and the Police will ask us to find a local foster family who want to adopt the child in the future. Recently it seems that we have more abandoned children and I was thinking about this, why is a mother abandoning her baby, the baby she carried for 9 months and who she fed and cared for??
Adoption papers were given!!!!!
It was for us in Amecet, a very special day........ We were able to give the final adoption orders from the Court, to 25 families!!!
Twins x 3
Today, new twins were brought to Amecet. A boy and a girl... This brings the sets of twins to 3 in Amecet... And all 3 sets are boy/girl.......
School is back in full swing...
Maybe you heard that the schools were closed in Uganda for almost 2 years..... January 2022 all the schools opened again and Elias, one of our two social workers , has been very busy to help the students we sponsor. With the help of a study support of the foundation The Figurant from the Netherlands, we are able to sponsor a number of students with their secondary school or life skill course. We focus mostly on the children living with HIV/AIDS and who are orphans. To give them a chance to be able to get a living after their school or course.
Ocen was brought back to his relatives..
This week, our social worker Elias, brought Ocen back to his relatives in the village. When he was brought to Amecet, a couple of months ago, he was not sick or malnourished, he was a bit dull and sad, but that is completely over..... I made this picture some days ago, when they suppose to have their nap. He was standing in his bed, shouting to the other toddlers, to do the same and to make as much noise as possible.. His story is sad, as many stories of the children we get in Amecet. Ocen was brought by two gentlemen and a police officer, one of the two gentlemen said he was the former boyfriend of Ocen's mother. The mother had disappeared. We took Ocen in Amecet and our social workers started to trace for the mother. It should be also the work of the police, but most of the times it is Amecet who is doing this work. Our two social workers, Simon and Elias, are the one's who trace for the relatives of the children in Amecet who are abandoned. Later came out, that the former boyfriend is the real father and the other gentleman is the real grandfather. In a situation like that, we can not just bring Ocen back to his father, knowing that he doesn't want him and might neglect him. We need to bring the child back to his relatives, but it has to be safe!! The social workers found where the mother came from, they traveled to her village and found the grandmother there and uncles and aunties. It was still a process working towards the day that Elias brought him there. The local authorities were involved and at the end Ocen was welcome. The mother was not at home, she is wandering around, but at least there is a home with a grandmother.
To read our old blog you can click here