There are many, many stories here in Uganda - some will break your heart and others will fill your heart with joy. The story of Caroline and Josephine have done both for me.
It was mid-September when COG mentor Diana and COG supporter Mike Essrig discovered 2 1/2 year old twins, Caroline and Josephine in the village of Buzeka. Diana and Mike, braving some of the roughest road’s in Jinja, went to Buzeka to do a routine visit and assessment for one of COG’s sponsored children, Jovia. Jovia a bright young student has done well in the COG program, so needless to say, it came as a shock to see Caroline and Josephine, sitting on the ground beside their Jaja looking severely malnourished.
Caroline’s legs were too weak even allow her to stand on her own. Josephine sat near her, cross-eyed and lethargic, unable to keep her own head up. Their eyes told a story I had never heard before. Needless to say, Diana, Mike, and the rest of COG knew that something needed to be done to help these two little girls. It was clear that their Jaja, who is also the grandmother of young Jovia, cared for them deeply, but was simply unable to provide for them.
The girls were brought to a malnutrition rehabilitation center called Serving His Children - run and founded by an amazing 22 year girl named Rene. After three months of careful attention and scheduled feeding, the twins were healthy enough to go home. The twin’s Jaja was brought in once a week to spend time with her grandchildren and to go through classes on nutrition and health, so that when the babies were returned home they would return to a family that understood their needs. This is a standard part of Serving His Children’s amazing program.
Just last friday we picked up Jaja for the last time to help her gather up her two healthy grandchildren and bring them home. I’ve never seen a smile as big as the one across Jaja’s face when she saw baby Caroline standing on her own two feet and baby Josephine, who’s cross-eyed vision has been fixed, walking on her own. It was truly a miracle.
