- Luke Armstrong, Director of Social Service Programs for La Asociación Nuestros Ahijados
Timid watchful eyes follow me across the room. As I approach, a fragile hand clutches my finger the other grasping my scrub top. Out of the crib, and into the communal area. A temperature check, some medicine and we are ready to play – of sorts. Julian is one of the many children that make up the 43% of the population under 5 years of age in Guatemala that are chronically malnourished. With such severe malnutrition Julian is at higher risk of significant mental and physical development problems. For many children, like Julian, it is not so much play time as lay time.
Julian is severely ill. He is a patient at Nuestros Ahijados’ malnutrition hospital Casa Jackson in San Felipe, Guatemala. Chronically underweight Julian will live at Casa Jackson for an indefinite time. I guess you could say Julian is one of the lucky few identified by this and similar organisations for the remedial treatment, love and affection that he desperately needs.
Ironically I have written above that Julian will reside at Casa Jackson for an “indefinite time” – never have truer words been spoken. Sadly, halfway through writing this blog Julian’s circumstances changed significantly. 4 days after Julian underwent several blood transfusions and received the treatment he required for a crippling parasitic infection his parents arrived at Casa Jackson. Unexplainably they demanded that Julian be discharged. Although he had received the treatment, Julian was still dangerously underweight. Casa Jackson aspire to help malnourished children and will firmly stand by this aspiration, however they will not force families to admit their children and nor will they keep them against the wishes of the family. Needless to say Julian wasn’t at Casa Jackson during my next shift, merely 12 hours after tucking him into his crib for the night.
It is staggering that even a great service such as that provided by Casa Jackson can be unequivocally rejected by the parents of a child whom is clearly in need. This situation begs the question: At what point does lack of education become ignorance? And in this case, neglect?
Julian is severely ill. He is a patient at Nuestros Ahijados’ malnutrition hospital Casa Jackson in San Felipe, Guatemala. Chronically underweight Julian will live at Casa Jackson for an indefinite time. I guess you could say Julian is one of the lucky few identified by this and similar organisations for the remedial treatment, love and affection that he desperately needs.
Ironically I have written above that Julian will reside at Casa Jackson for an “indefinite time” – never have truer words been spoken. Sadly, halfway through writing this blog Julian’s circumstances changed significantly. 4 days after Julian underwent several blood transfusions and received the treatment he required for a crippling parasitic infection his parents arrived at Casa Jackson. Unexplainably they demanded that Julian be discharged. Although he had received the treatment, Julian was still dangerously underweight. Casa Jackson aspire to help malnourished children and will firmly stand by this aspiration, however they will not force families to admit their children and nor will they keep them against the wishes of the family. Needless to say Julian wasn’t at Casa Jackson during my next shift, merely 12 hours after tucking him into his crib for the night.
It is staggering that even a great service such as that provided by Casa Jackson can be unequivocally rejected by the parents of a child whom is clearly in need. This situation begs the question: At what point does lack of education become ignorance? And in this case, neglect?
Julian is just a boy…and now I wonder if he will grow to be a man.
To learn more about volunteering at Casa Jackson and what else you can do to help please click here:
http://www.godschild.org/casajackson/
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