Whose child is this?
Linda Webb — Etobicoke, ON
Another beautiful Tanzanian day!
So beautiful it's hard to believe that
Poverty and the scourges of
Malaria and AIDS surround us.
The children of Mvuti express their
Thirst and gratitude for education
in their school songs.
Our hearts vibrate with the beating
of the drums and
Resonance of their voices and we are
Moved to tears.
Clothed in brilliant new kangas
The children gather with apprehensive joy
For the gift of a bedkit.
Seven hundred in all, one stands in crowded solitude.
A boy perfect
Except he has no words
Only grunts and unexpected
High-pitched giggles as though laughing at the trick
Fate had played on him.
He stands in line with the children
But they shy away from his
Mangled right arm.
With a sigh too deep for words he
Drops unexpectedly
To the ground as though he derives
Comfort from the warm sand if not from the
Smiles of other children.
His bedkit and new clothes safely in the arms of his mama.
He returns, dressed again in tatters, to stare with big,
Dark and knowing eyes at each SCAW volunteer in turn.
Maybe he sees the sorrow and concern for his
Welfare in our hearts.
He does not reveal his within but we are not left
Unchanged.
He reaches with his good hand to
Gently touch Judy's blond hair.
And he wanders off again.
Tonight, for the first time, he will have the
Comfort of a blanket and net.
A gift of love and hope from
Friends he will never know, but tonight he will feel their
Embrace in the warmth of his bed.
What if his mama has AIDS or Malaria?
Whose child is this?
LLIN:
Long Lasting Insecticide Net
In Africa, one child dies from malaria every thirty seconds. Malaria is the biggest killer disease of children under five years of age in this challenging part of the world. SCAW has been researching the inclusion of a new type of mosquito netting in our bedkits. This new type of netting, called a Long Lasting Insecticide Net (LLIN), was in the Tanzania bedkit this year.
This netting is much more effective than untreated nets due to the binding of the insecticide to the netting. The World Health Organization has vigorously tested the insecticide and found it has no ill effects on humans. The only negative to the LLIN nets is the cost: about four times the cost of an untreated net. In order to include an LLIN net in this year's Tanzania bedkit, we had to cut back on some other items; however, if we can save children's lives, it's well worth it.
