Felix

I would like to introduce you to Felix, a very special friend of mine and tell you a bit about his story but I’m going to try to tell it in reverse for you to hold fast to his joy and abundant life rather than be saddened by the sufferings of his past. Hopefully the pictures can tell most of the story and I’ll just fill in in-between the lines.

 

This is Felix today. He is HIV+ and is taking ARV’s. He has a new mom, Ivone, who is doing an incredible job with raising him. We celebrate his life this month as he turns 2 years old.

Every child that comes to the nutrition program has a Right to Health Card that helps monitor vaccination, well baby check-ups, and most importantly to us, weight growth.  The lowest point in the graph, October, 2011, Felix weighed 4.8 kg (10.5 lb) at 1 year and 3 mn.  Nine months later, July, 2012, he weighs 14.2 kg (31 kg).  He is growing and just won't stop!

 

 

 

This is Ivone with, November 2011. Felix had been living with Ivone for 1 month at this point. His mother died when he was 6 months old and then he lived with his father and a new wife. The new wife was overwhelmed with a house full of children and Felix was neglected in all ways: food, medical care, love. She would bring Felix and her nephew to the clinic to receive milk and the nephew would always be well and Felix always sick. Of all her responsibilities, Felix came in last.

We tried several ways to encourage her and the rest of the family to take better care of him but it didn’t work and we ended up removing him from his family in order to allow him to be admitted into a hospital for life saving medical treatment needed for malnutrition and HIV. We try everything in every situation to empower the family to care for children. There are often barriers but rarely are they as insurmountable as in Felix’s case.

Having him admitted in the hospital without family consent but with consent of Social Services meant that we now were 100% responsible for him and his future. It was a step taken without consideration at the time. There was no other option and we knew the Lord would provide the wisdom and grace needed when that time came to decided what would be next for him. He was so sick I honestly wasn’t sure that time would ever come. While he was in the hospital there were 2 incredible women who we hired to rotate staying with him. Praise the Lord, the day arrived when he was discharged from the hospital and Ivone, who is now his mom, was the caregiver staying with him at the time.

Through the Lord’s wisdom and grace we asked Ivone if she would be willing to care for Felix on a trial basis. Stepping outside of all tradition and cultural strongholds that include curses over households where orphans and sick people are being cared for, she agreed. Because she agreed, she has been the pivotal point in saving Felix’s life. Not only that, she made this sacrifice because of her  relationship with Jesus and knowing His heart and love for the little ones. By taking in the ‘unwanted’, loving him and fighting for the restoration of his life, Ivone and Felix’s life together is a living testimony of God’s love and redemption.