An outbreak of measles in Texas is in the headlines these days but mostly because any case of the measles in the United States is unusual. While there has been progress in reducing measles all over the world, cases of the disease remain higher than they should be. Not too long ago Anabel, the little girl under our care in
Ghana, came down with measles and thankfully recovered. And today another of the
children we have been taking care of was brought to John suffering with it.
The little boy's name is Twenibua. He is perhaps two years old, now. He first came
to John's attention when he found him abandoned at a local merchant's shop. The
shopkeeper told John that the father had asked him to watch him and then never came
back. John took the boy in and, when the father finally returned, helped him to
relocate to the village where his mother said he would care for him. Basically this
didn't last long and the mother soon threw him out, leaving him once again with his
father who was basically unable to care for him. We have been doing what we can to
help with the child's keep since then.
This is a very simplified recap of a long, complicated story but the problem is
that the child's body is covered with measles rash and the father can't afford to
get him any kind of medical treatment. Unfortunately, this is the end of the month
when funds are tight (and John himself has been very sick) but we will do what
we can.
