There are many people that I’ve met on this trip, but God makes some people really stand out to me. There are so many huge problems that we see everyday and everyone has so much that they need. All we can do is take the people God puts on our hearts and help them one at a time. Two people in particular that have been on my mind a lot are a lady named Catherine and her little baby named Mary who live in Shimo la Tewa. Mary was born with hydrocephalus, which means that she has water on her brain. Her mother had to have a C-section because the hydrocephalus has caused her head to expand. When her father saw Mary he left, so now Catherine is on her own to raise Mary and provide for both of them. When Mary was four months old she had a surgery to place a shunt in her head to try to relieve some of the pressure on her brain and allow some of the fluid to drain. The surgery was expensive, but the clinic allowed the mother to make payments so that Mary could still get the help she needs. Sadly, because Mary needs a lot of extra care and attention it puts a huge strain on her mother. Catherine is only able to leave the house for a short while to collect water and wash laundry because she can’t leave the child at home alone for long and she can’t carry Mary and what she needs at the same time. Catherine’s neighbors also support her by giving her some food because she is unable to work. 

            Despite her tough situation Catherine is a great, loving mother to her daughter. She wants to provide for her the best way that she can. She needs so much, but doesn’t ask for a single thing. Mary is unable to hold up her head because of its size. She needs to do exercises to help strengthen her neck, but her mother does not have any spare time to work on that with her. I will be working on spending some time with Mary working on strengthening her neck while giving her mother some time to have a little break and get some things done. Keep her in your prayers. We are taking her to a clinic on the 27th and if her head has not gotten any smaller she will have to have another operation. 

Mary was sleeping when we came to visit.

Catherine and Mary inside their home.