At one year and four months old, Antoine weighed 6.54 kg when we met him two weeks ago. Due to the family’s low income, he was eating too little and was suffering from severe undernutrition. Graines d’Espoir is now supporting him through the donation of artificial milk (3rd age) and ready-to-use therapeutic foods. He is not yet out of his state of undernutrition but he is well on his way!⁠

At 9 months old, Alhadé weighed 4.43 kg when we first met him. He was weaned from breast milk far too early and was fed porridge when he was only two months old. Alhadé was hospitalized in April 2022 for a convulsive crisis, in a context of malnutrition. Since then, he has suffered from a disability due to his convulsions.

Marwane has Cerebral Palsy, most likely due to his prematurity at birth. His parents are very young and have little means. They are substitute teachers, but they are either not paid, or very little. Marwane is severely malnourished due to his disability. We are now supporting him with the cost of his physiotherapy sessions and we provide him with food supplements. ⁠

Zélica suffers from a severe status epilepticus. In the course of one day alone, she had 5 tonic-clonic seizures in our presence. She lives with her two biological parents who take very good care of her, but who came to see us overwhelmed by their daughter's condition. Faced with the family's lack of financial means, we decided to support her medical care.

We met Edmond while he was suffering from a testicular hernia. We financed an emergency surgery, which went very well, and we continued the post-operative care at our center. Edmond lives with his mom and 8 siblings. Given the family's precarious living conditions, we are currently providing food supplies and accommodation, until the mom regains her financial independence.

Alexis was born with Down Syndrome and suffers from severe undernutrition. When we first met him, his mom was not aware of his diagnosis. We took them to a pediatrician in Lomé who announced the diagnosis and presented the pathology and its repercussions on Alexis' weight. We are now giving them artificial milk and are financing all the consultations and medical exams which are necessary for Alexis' medical care.

We met Kéven when he was only one month old. His mom unfortunately passed away a few days after his birth, of unknown cause. His grandmother is now taking care of him. se support them today through medical care at our center, and the donation of artificial milk.⁠

When we first met Gracia, she was suffering from Cerebral Palsy and severe undernutrition. We met her during a visit to the local physiotherapist. We decided to support her through medical care at our center and the donation of food supplements (RUTF and cereals). Gracia has been receiving physical therapy since she was 5 months old. She has already made good progress on her psychomotor delay and can even sit up by herself!

When we first met Justin, he was suffering from undernutrition (3.97 kg at 3.5 months). His mom did not produce enough breast milk and suffered from breast sores. As a result, she fed Justin with porridge, a diet that was not adapted to his needs. As the family has limited means, we support them through the donation of artificial milk and medical care at our center.

When we first met Marie and Mary, their parents were unemployed, and they had difficulty providing for their children. The mom having major breast sores, the twins had received little breast milk. As a result, they were in a situation of undernutrition and in need of artificial milk. As the family does not have sufficient means to purchase the milk, we are helping them through the donation of artificial milk, and medical care at our center.

We met Amen following the passing of his mom in August 2022. He lives with his grandmother who has little financial means. While attempting to make up for the lack of maternal milk, she fed him with porridge, a diet that was not adapted. We decided to support them through medical care and the donation of artificial milk.

Evrard, our referral nurse who also works at the hospital of Tsévié, received Joyce in his department. She was suffering from severe undernutrition (2.35 kg at 5 months). As a result, Joyce also suffers from keratomalacia, a degeneration of the cornea caused by a nutritional deficiency in vitamin A. When we met her, we decided to fund her emergency hospitalization so that she could regain weight quickly.

Samuelvi was abandoned just after he was born. Alerted by his cries, a lady found him in a small bush, wrapped in a cloth. She alerted the police and brought him to the hospital of the city to check his condition. Since then, she has been taking care of him. However, due to lack of means, she has been struggling to feed him. We have decided to support them and provide them with artificial milk, so that Samuelvi can benefit from a diet adapted to his age.⁠

At the time of care, Laurent is 8 years old and weighs 14 kg. He suffers from acute undernutrition and a serious disability. He has Cerebral Palsy as a result of numerous malaria episodes that he has contracted since 2019. He can no longer stand or feed himself, for example. We met him while he was again suffering from a malaria episode (neurological form). He also presented oral mycosis and bedsores on his body. We decided to finance his hospitalization.

When we met Jean-François, at 13 days of age, he weighed 2.42 kg. Since the day he was born, he has lived with his aunt. Jean-Francois’ mom has a mental disability. After she gave birth, she left him in the hospital, so his aunt decided to take care of him. Jean-François has been fed with artificial milk, but his aunt has limited financial means and cannot afford to pay for it. We are now supporting them with donations of artificial milk and regular consultations at the center.

Zara lives with her parents and her older brother. Her dad runs a small shoe business and her mom is unemployed. Zara was born at home. Since then, her mom has not been able to produce enough milk to feed her. Due to lack of financial means, they have been giving her crushed cookies, an inappropriate and dangerous diet for Zara. When we first met her, at 3 months old, she weighed 3.37 kg, indicating a situation of severe undernutrition. We are now supporting her through the donation of artificial milk and regular check-ups at the center.

Unfortunately, Koffi's mom passed away during childbirth, and he is now living with his aunt. She and his dad provided him with artificial milk during his first two months. However, due to a lack of means, they are no longer able to afford it. We support them today through medical care at the center and the donation of artificial milk, so that he can benefit from a diet adapted to his age.

At the beginning of care, Israël suffered from severe undernutrition (3.68 kg at 3 months). His mom passed away from sickle cell disease in April 2022. Since then, he has been living with his grandmother and his two siblings. Due to lack of means, he was fed with porridge, which is not adapted to his young age. We are now supporting him through medical care at our center and the donation of artificial milk.

The triplets live with their parents and their four siblings. Patron, Jamina and Kezia were born prematurely and through a C-section. Their mom is under treatment for a cardiac disease and cannot breastfeed them. We are now helping them through medical care at our center and the donation of artificial milk.

When we met Afi Grâce, at two and a half months, she weighed 2.21 kg. We met her during a home visit to one of our children. As her mom was not producing enough breast milk to feed her, Afi Grâce was then in a situation of severe undernutrition. In view of her condition, we decided to hospitalize her urgently, at the Hospital of Tsévié.

Jacob lives with his parents, both sewers, and his four siblings. When we met him, at two months old, he weighed 3.75 kg. As his mom does not produce enough breast milk and has limited means, she has fed him with porridge and cookies since his first days. We are now supporting them through medical care at the center and donations of artificial milk.

Following an accident, Julienne's dad lost his job, leaving the family in a very precarious situation. When we met Julienne, at seven weeks old, she weighed 2.6 kg and was then in a situation of undernutrition. She was also suffering from severe malaria, for which she was admitted to the hospital. She was hospitalized in Tsévié for 2 weeks, until she was cured of malaria and reached a safe weight for her age.

We met Adonaï when he weighed 6.43 kg at 2 years and 1 month. He was not able to speak or walk yet. Adonaï lives with his mom and his 6 brothers and sisters. He is the youngest among his siblings. The dad left, and they have not heard from him. The mom has a motor disability since 2018. She no longer walks and has great difficulty standing.

Émilie has been visually impaired since birth. She can see some light, but she cannot distinguish anything precisely. She has one eye with a regular appearance and one very small eye with a closed eyelid. We are supporting her by providing ophthalmological care. We also give her access to French and Braille classes at the center, so that she can benefit from an education adapted to her handicap.

Samuel was born with valgum knees (inward deviation of the knees). He had an accident while playing soccer in 2019, which caused a fracture in his right leg. Due to lack of means, he never had surgery following the accident. The bones rebuilt, but in an anarchic way. Since then, he had to walk with crutches and suffered from persistent pain. He was quickly exhausted. We planned the surgery on his leg, and we are now financing his treatments and physical therapy sessions.

Since Manassé was born, his mom did not produce enough milk to feed him. The grandmother financed the first boxes of artificial milk, but she eventually ran out of money. Manassé was then fed with porridge. Today, we support them through the donation of artificial milk and medical care at our center.

Atsoupé has a developmental delay. When we first met her, she could not sit up or walk. She was in a state of severe undernutrition. We also observed stiffness in her lower limbs. We are now helping her through a monthly food supply for her and her family (proteins, corn, soya, oil, etc.), and we provide medical support for her psychomotor delay.

Komi has Cerebral Palsy. He can say a few words like “mommy” and expresses himself with noises and signs. He does not walk and needs a lot of assistance with daily activities. He is able to eat the family meal, but in very small quantities. The family is very involved in Komi’s daily care. They have visited many hospitals and specialists. However, they no longer have the financial means to continue.

Victor lives with his mom and sister. Victor’s mom is a teacher in biology, but she has not been able to find work. When we first met them, Victor was still fed primarily with his mom’s milk. As his mom did not have the financial means to buy food for her family, she paid for food on credit and struggled to pay it back. Victor suffers from a great psychomotor delay and the tonicity of his lower limbs is limited.

Jean and Jeanne’s mom passed away during childbirth due to severe anemia. The dad’s sister and a friend decided to take care of the children. The twins were born underweight and were both losing weight. When we first met them, at 9 days of life, Jean weighed 1.9 kg and Jeanne 2.03 kg. We are now supporting them through the donation of artificial milk and regular check-ups at the Graines d’Espoir center.

Kékéli suffers from sickle cell disease. This is a chronic, incurable genetic disorder that affects hemoglobin. Evrard, our Head nurse, referred Kékéli to us, as her family has very limited means. All of their savings went into medical care. In fact, she often needs blood transfusions. She is also prone to infections and is very fragile. We decided to support her by financing her medical care.

When we met Afi, at 6 weeks old, we were alarmed by her weight, which was the same as when she was born (2.3 kg). In fact, her mom had little breast milk, and Afi had difficulty breastfeeding. She was getting out of breath very quickly. We have supported her through the donation of artificial milk and medical care at our center.

Viviane lives with her parents and her three older siblings. When we first met her, she was suffering from severe undernutrition (5.7 kg at the age of 14 months). Her dad was a teacher and her mom did not work. In fact, Viviane requires constant care. Since birth, she has had respiratory and deglutition problems. At the beginning of the care, she could only drink liquids. She has significant psychomotor deficits and has malformations in both feet (talus valgus feet).

Grâce was suffering from severe undernutrition. When we first met her, at 5 weeks old, she weighed 2.76 kg. At the examination, we noticed her extreme thinness and apparent dehydration, marked by dry and wrinkled skin, and dull and frizzy hair. In fact, she had trouble breastfeeding properly. We are now supporting Grâce through the donation of artificial milk, and regular check-ups at our center.

Hope suffers from cerebral edema and hydrocephalus. The edema is stable and the major consequence, which is Hope's blindness, is unfortunately already irreversible. We are now giving her access to Braille and French classes, so that she can benefit from an education adapted to her disability. When Hope is older, we intend to give her access to a specialized school for visually impaired children.

Debora comes from a family of three. She was diagnosed with epilepsy in 2019. Since she was very little, she has had what we call “seizures”. These include unconsciousness, hypothermia, sweating, urination and eye twitching. As the family has very limited income, we finance her treatment as well as the tests required by her pathology.

Geremie has had glaucoma since birth. He lives with his mom, his two brothers and his sister. His dad passed away a few years ago. Since then, the family has been living under very precarious conditions. We are now giving Geremie access to an education adapted to his disability. Since Sept. 2021, he attends a specialized school for visually impaired children in Lomé.

Emmanuel has had glaucoma since birth. He lives with his mom, his two brothers and his sister. His dad passed away a few years ago. Since then, the family has been living under very precarious conditions. We are now giving Emmanuel access to an education adapted to his disability. Since Sept. 2021, he attends a specialized school for visually impaired children in Lomé.