Mongu, Zambia,  2002

Twin girls were saved from certain starvation by the intervention of Kids Alive Mongu Lilato home. Quick action on the part Davern & Masoka Shilayi resulted in the rescue of these girls who were suffering from severe dehydration and starvation.

It seems that on the 22^nd of January, a young lady in the village of Kandiana of Sefula Msindi gave birth to twins after a labor of three days. Unfortunately this young mother died during childbirth. The girl was unmarried and the suspected father denied any involvement or responsibility. The care of these twin girls fell to their grandmother who had herself been widowed only two weeks before.

Under these severe conditions, the community rallied behind this grandmother with donations of used baby clothes. However, the real problem was the lack of milk. This grandmother used the only milk available to her for these babies, fresh un-pasteurized cow’s milk. However, what she did not know was that a newborn’s digestive system is not capable of digesting cow’s milk. So, no matter how much the girls ate, they lost weight. As this continued, the desperate grandmother began treating the children with magical charms and wild plants, but still they got worse.

An alert elder at the local Evangelical Church brought this situation to the attention of the Shilayis at Kids Alive, who quickly responded to the need. They located a concerned Christian family to provide a temporary home and intensive care for these girls until they are in good health. Then they organized a vehicle to go and immediately collect these emaciated twin girls. The magic charms were removed, the girls were bathed and admitted to the hospital.

The hospital staff estimated that they could not have lived more than another day or two in those conditions. After only three days of proper fluids and antibiotics, the girls were released from the hospital. They are now recuperating and gaining weight rapidly. They will be the first girls in the second Lilato home in Mongu. Here they are now after only 3 months in the care of Kids Alive well fed and content.