“What You Don’t Know is Bigger Than You.” – A Haitian Creole Proverb
That is certainly true of little Djoulins (pronounced Jou-lins). He is now in our Malnutrition Center and ready to be released. You may say, “He doesn’t look malnourished to me!” Yes, that’s true. But, as the Creole Proverb says, “What you don’t know is bigger than you.” In other words, you may think you know something until you find out “there’s more to the story.”
Djoulins has Kwashiorkor Malnutrition. This is a “killer disease” in Haiti for babies because every Haitian mother wants a “fat baby!” The fatter the baby, the more baby is loved!!! Perhaps the mother thinks that “others will think she is taking good care of him/her.” But, that is far from the truth… Kwashiorkor is deceiving. When a Haitian mother has no food or lots of kids to feed, she may feed them things that “fill their stomachs” but is not good for them.
Djoulins is 23 months old. He lives with his mother in an area called, “Booster.” She has two small children and lives in a mud hut that her neighbor lent her for a while. Poverty and unemployment put Djoulins’ father in a position where he could not support his family. When his 21-year-old wife was six months pregnant with Djoulins, he said he was “abandoning his wife and children to find food…”
Little Djoulins was only getting “cinnamon tea” in the morning and a “rice-flour” porridge in the evening (no vegetables or fruits, or meat). In order for the mother to be able to live in the “mud hut,” she had to work for the lady who owned the mud hut by selling “vegetable leaves” for her neighbors. This was her only “life insurance” to stay in the mud hut!
Djoulins’ mother noticed that he was having diarrhea, vomiting, lack of appetite, and wasn’t sleeping. She could not understand “how he could be big” if he was not eating all his “food.”
By a miracle, she met someone who worked at our Malnutrition Center. He had to go to the Jesus Healing Center, and after looking at him, the doctor immediately referred him to our Malnutrition Center because he only weighed 5.7 kg (about 12.6 pounds).
After “special milk products,” he could later eat the Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) rice and soon other foods. He now weighs 7.4 kg (about 16.3 pounds). The nurses taught his mother “better natural things, like avocados, that would be better for him [to eat]. He is going home with special FMSC food and a special “potato” mixture for this type of child. This can also be given to his brother. He has another appointment in 15 days and will receive this food again.
We are thankful to those who help sponsor the Malnutrition Center Clinic each month. We are thankful to Joyce Meyer Ministries – Hand of Hope for sponsoring the building of this beautiful Malnutrition Center, and we are thankful to Feed My Starving Children for their donation of rice meals to “starving children in Haiti.”
Although Haiti has its sad times and its rough times, we are so thankful to the Lord for the “good things” we see each day… like saving another little life!
Sherry