August 3, 2022

Sesy

Neema’s newest baby was abandoned at a church a few days ago.

They named her Sesilia Peter Paul. We will call her Sesy. She is healthy and beautiful and weighs about eight pounds with chubby little cheeks. She is probably a couple of weeks old. She doesn’t cry or spit up and is not a fussy baby. We cannot understand how a mom could take such good care of such a sweet little one and then abandon her. We know this poor mom must be hurting. We hurt for her.

Afsa

This beautiful baby was born May16th, 2022.  Her mom is very young, she is also deaf and both her parents have died.  Social Welfare decided she needed help while the baby was so little.  Hopefully we can work together to give this young mama the help and support she needs. Afsa will stay at Neema until her mom is able to take her home.

Clarence

Clarence Delvis was born March 25, 2022. His mother asked a neighbor to watch him while she went to get milk. She never returned. The neighbor said his mother is an addict, a prostitute and has HIV.  We hope this mom will reach out for some help someday. Until then we already love this little guy. He was very malnourished and seemed almost comatose until Ali Maddox started calling him “Clarence.” Then he began to giggle. He had been abandoned in a Maasai town so we thought he was Maasai but Clarence is so not a Maasai name. Now he is a happy baby and is adjusting just fine to the love and care at Neema. I am still concerned about his right arm which he does not use much. The shoulder had seemed pulled out of joint at first. We will watch that arm.

Grace

This sweet baby girl’s mom died at her birth and there was no father in the picture. The baby came to Neema Village just as our Grace Bible Church volunteers from Georgetown were leaving. Our Social worker, Angel, will work to find a family member for this little girl. Once the babies are off the bottle, they are ready for adoption or reunification with a family member. “No baby belongs in an orphanage” has always been our motto. We hope baby Grace will one day be able to return to a grandmother or aunt.

Nosim

Baby Nosim was a week old when she came to Neema. Her Maasai mom had died and the grandmother and father, along with Rick Morro, a friend, brought the baby in to Neema. The family is Ngorongoro Crater Maasai, who are the only tribe allowed to live in the crater.  The grandmother does not feel that she can take care of such a little baby so we are happy to step in until the baby can return home. It is very hard for Maasai to provide clean water, sterilize bottles, or buy formula after a mom has died. Many babies out in the remote villages will not be able to survive to age 5 without a mom. Our Save The Mothers program is helping with this problem of high maternal death rates but with six million Maasai it will take a while to train enough TBAs (traditional birthing attendants) to make a difference.

Neema #2