Just before I started my
centre for malnutrition, in Basankusu, we decided to keep one of our cat’s
three kittens. He followed me about and eventually became my kitten. Unfortunately, he suddenly refused to eat.
Try as I might, he clamped his mouth shut whenever I tried to feed him. Day by
day, he became thinner. His brothers, whom we’d given away, were already
feasting on mice and rats. Each day he’d come into my room, looking for
somewhere to rest his bony frame … and after two weeks of not eating he simply
went to sleep and didn’t wake up. It made me sad.
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| The little kitten on the left refused to eat. |
“This is what I’m going
to see when I start feeding malnourished children,” I told Fr. John. “If I’m
upset about a cat dying, what am I going to do when it’s a child who dies?”
“Focus on the positives,”
he replied. “You’ll have some setbacks, but there will be even more successes
in your work,”
And so it was. Over the
years, around forty children attending my centres have died. They’d either been
brought along too late, or their parents refused to follow the programme. On
the positive side, we’ve saved the lives of over two thousand children!
In the course of this
work, we recently had a visit from a new doctor called Patrick (it’s a popular
name in the Congo!). He reminded us that play, and a positive attitude, can
have a great effect on getting children better.
In the early days we’d received
several children as companions of the sick children, usually relatives. They
enjoyed singing, dancing and playing … and their actions could be infectious.
Unfortunately, those children have since gone, and others go to school. We see
the parents of the malnourished children as desperate, worried, often
depressed. The children themselves sit, listless, staring into space … waiting
for their food.
So, even though it’s not
easy, we’ve been re-motivated by Doctor Patrick’s words. We’ve introduced some games
and singing and encourage brothers and sisters to play during our feeding
sessions - even if the poorly children can only watch.
June and July are our
busiest months, with up to seventy children expected. It would be great if, as
well as giving them nutritious food and medical attention, we could also raise
their spirits a bit through singing and play.
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| My new kitten - Panda |
As for my cat, I
eventually got over it. A few weeks ago, centre manager, Judith, came along
with a present for me. It was a new kitten.
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