Wanting to confirm details of the next stage of Mphatso’s treatment, AHA’s Nurse Christina traveled to Mphatso’s family’s village on Friday, April 15. We hadn’t heard from Mphatso’s family in awhile and wanted to confirm they knew about the upcoming appointment on April 20th and was prepared to make the trip.
We were very happy to know Mphatso was ready for the trip and would be accompanied by his mother, Aida, on the net trip. It turns out the inconsistent communication is due to the fact that there is only one solar charger for all phones in Mphatso’s village and his family hadn’t been able to access it in a while. Additionally, the nearest location with service is far, unreliable, and on top of a hill.
Nurse Christina watched as Mphatso showed his mother how to use the phone they would travel with and listened as he described every step of the journey. Nurse Christina was confident he could navigate back to Mercy James, and since Nurse Christina’s visit, he’s done just that.
Mphatso, his family, and his supporters were so happy for Nurse Christina’s surprise visit. Mphatso’s parents, Alick and Aida, remain fully on board with their son’s treatment plan, which Nurse Christina took the time to review in depth. She also reviewed the sponsorship program and the role of AHA.
Nurse Chrsitina’s trip has given us a much deeper understanding of Mphatso’s home village, what his life is like, and the trepidations of traveling for medical care.
Mphatso and his family live in the mountain bush where the family moved for cultivatable land after land became scarce in their home village in Malawi. They moved in 2013 after the three children were born. Most of the residents in their area are also Malawian and came for the same reason. Some Mozambique Chiefs gave underdeveloped lands to newcomers in the hopes of developing chiefdoms with productive residents, which is why Mphatso’s family’s story is not unique. The family’s land in Mozambique is much more fertile than the land they left behind in Malawi and they confirm they found what they were looking for. Now that they have fertile land and more successful crops, they have other struggles including the lack of medical care and education in the area.
In their current village, there is no real grocery or trading center, and the school is barely there.
Overall, we are very glad Nurse Christina was able to visit Mphatso, meet his siblings, confirm his upcoming care, and learn about his home life and community.
Nurse Christina’s trip also allowed AHA to check on a likely future sponsorship case, Loide. From Mphatso’s village, Nurse Christina could see Loide’s house, but the river separating them is currently too big to cross. We will return toward the end of the dry season to meet with Loide and his family, determine if we can help him with sponsorship, and form a plan. Below is a photo of Loide from a few months ago. So far, we have been unable to determine what is causing Loide’s symptoms so being able to see him in person in a few months will be very helpful.