The Children's Story

As told by Dr. Kantel

In Jan/07, I was introduced to a family in the village of Miezi. They were 4 sisters who were complete orphans in the care of 2 extremely poor village widows. The sisters were 4, 2 and twin 1-year-olds at the time. In the year since the twins were born, their mother had died, their father had died, and their grandmother who was the last family member alive to care for them had died. The 4 little girls were dressed in rags and were severely malnourished. The twins were limp and lifeless in the women's arms. I was asked if we could plan for these 4 children to enter our orphan-homes when they were ready...still many months away...but I said we needed to begin feeding these children immediately. Two weeks after we began feeding these girls, a paediatrician saw the twins for the first time and told me quietly she expected one--and likely both--to die. Eight months later, the twins are alert, fat, and full of energy. They are still being cared for by the two village women, and the 2 older sisters entered our orphan-village in November/07. These girls were the beginning of our village feeding program, which is now providing food every week for nearly 200 orphans and vulnerable children in and around Mieze.