Mphatso is a 12 year old boy who has had a growing facial tumor since he was born. His family lives in northern Tete, Mozambique, in a very remote village. Mphatso’s family has tried for years to get him help, traveling to neighboring Malawi many times trying to get medical attention.
How did AHA lean about Mphatso’s case?
Almost 20 years ago Ali Pinschmidt was a volunteer in Mozambique, living and teaching at a school. She kept in touch with several former students and contacts, including Helder Machavane. In May 2021, Helder reached out, pleading for help two young boys – Loide and Mphatso – who both had severe medical conditions. Helder is a teacher himself now, and was working “la la la na mata”… really, really, really far in the bush – in an area so remote he had to walk hours, and up a mountain, to access the weak and erratic internet connection he used to send the brief messages on a half-broken phone.
Ali was overwhelmed by his request – by the dire nature of these boys’ conditions, by the physical distance and inability to fully understand the situation, and – always – by the mountainous magnitude of inequity that lies between life and reality in the US and the lives and reality of most Mozambicans.
Ali reached out to many organizations looking for help, but didn’t get many responses. Then a few weeks later, she received $1,500 in pandemic-related funds, and immediately passed it on to Helder to share with the boys and their families. She knew perhaps nothing would change, but hoping something could.
In the following months, Ali heard from Helder that that one of the boys, Loide, had died while traveling from a regional hospital. A portion of the $1,500 she had sent paid for his funeral. After Loide’s death, there were suspicions of witchcraft and Loide’s family’s house was set on fire. Helder was traumatized by all of this, and then became very ill with tuberculosis. He gave a portion of the money to Mphatso and his father to travel to Malawi for medical attention, and used the remainder of the funds to return to his family in Beira to recuperate from TB. Mphatso and his father then traveled to and stayed in Lilongwe, Malawi, going every day to the hospital to try to meet with a doctor who was never there. Eventually they ran through the remainder of the funds and were forced to returned home.
For Ali, this was all extremely distressing to learn. Things seemed very hopeless. Then months later, in October 2021, we at Access Health Africa found and returned Ali’s email. We shared that of course we were willing to help Mphatso connect with a surgical team, and thought his best chances would be at the recently built Mercy James Institute for Pediatric Surgery and Intensive Care in Blantyre, Malawi!
What’s the status of Mphatso’s case now?
Mphatso was admitted to Mercy James Institute on January 10th and underwent scans and tests on January 11th. Dr. Borgstein is now working with his team to form his diagnosis and develop a treatment plan and timeline. We will update our blog, instagram, and facebook pages as we hear more.
What’s needed to help Mphatso?
Right now, Ali and AHA are fundraising to pay for Mphatso’s consultation and first two surgeries in Blantyre. While Malawi’s healthcare system will cover the surgery, hospital stay, and some diagnostic tests, we are raising funds to pay for transportation, Alick’s accommodations and food, Nurse Christina’s time to support and guide Mphatso and Alick, and more. We have estimated the total cost to be $2,900.
How’s the fundraising going?
Amazing!! In just three days, Ali raised a very impressive $3,282, blowing past the original goal! While we believe we have enough funds to cover Mphatso’s consultation and first two surgeries, we are certainly still accepting donations. Any additional funds will be kept for future medical care or given to Mphatso’s family. You can donate to Mphatso’s care here. To donate to other medical sponsorship recipients or AHA’s surgical camps, click here.
