Coming from far...

Today I met the Tarawally family.
Hannah is 4 and Umaru is 6.
Both children have been sick for some time.
They live with their mom up in Kono - a day's travel away.
Mom had tried to treat the children upcountry but they were not improving.
She then heard from her niece who is going to school in Freetown about our clinic.
So she decided to make the trip to Freetown to visit the clinic in Aberdeen.
Little did she know she would have to make some effort for her children to be seen.
Arriving 2 weeks ago, she has tried to get into the clinic a few times, but did not succeed.
Unfortunately the lines outside have been very long and we have had to send many children away.
I think they had been sent away twice already.
Mom decided that if her kids were to be seen here, she would have to sleep nearby.
So, last night she begged someone across the street to let her sleep at their place.
That way she could wake up really early to line up outside the clinic.
And that is what she did.
She paid Le 4,000 ($1.33) for lodging and woke up at 3am to stand outside the gate.
Can you believe it?
She was very happy this morning when I handed her two tickets for her children.
And even more delighted when I saw them inside my office.
In the end both children had malaria and Hb's of 7 and 8.
They have been put on correct treatment and will be reviewed on Wednesday.
Let's hope they're better so that they can make their way back home!

*Le 4,000 for lodging sounds cheap, but it's not when an average day's wage is Le 15,000
And this mother is not employed.
Her clinic costs were: Le 1,000 per child for consultation and a total of Le 3,500 for medication for her children. In other hospitals she would have spent Le 15,000 for one consultation alone!