Elijah: Baby of Grace
“If
a newborn's mother dies, no one can care for the child because
his mother will miss him and ‘call' him to be with her”
With one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world,
not many people take note of a dying baby. When Baby Elijah's
mother died from a rabid dog bite when he was just 2 days
old, no one else would help him because of the lack of food
for them to produce enough milk for their own nursing babies.
The lack of food, encourages a local legend which is, “If
a newborn's mother dies, no one can care for the child because
his mother will miss him and ‘call' him to be with her”. Two
brave friends of his mother dared to break local customs and
bring him to our compound for help in January of 2006.
When Baby Elijah was only two days old, his mother died because
a rabid dog bit her. Because there is no electricity in Southern
Sudan, we cannot keep rabies medication. Thanks to our new
generator, supplied by African Leadership, that will soon
change!
The Make Way Partners compound is focused on the 400-plus
children who we feed and educate; however, it is known as
a beacon in the community where we will do all we can to help
those in need. Daily, many gather to sit and chat outside
the gates, as in Biblical times, just waiting to see what
good thing will happen next. Village women brought Baby Elijah
to the gates and sat and waited in 125-degree heat. When James
and I walked through the gates, they cried out for help. They
told us his story and that he hadn’t eaten in two days.
The
women handed Baby Elijah to me. My youngest child is now 18
years old, but in an instant I remembered holding my children
for the first time and was moved by the fragility of life.
None of the village women would nurse the starving baby because
food is so scarce they were afraid they would not produce
enough milk for him and their baby, too.
Quickly, I tried to become objective enough to evaluate the
situation. He was burning with fever and was naked. (No one
in Sudan has diapers. At best, they use a rag or part of a
blanket to wrap around their baby’s bottom.) When I pinched
the skin on his abdomen, all elasticity was gone. He was severely
dehydrated and would not open his eyes.
I looked to James. James is 29, single, orphaned since 11
years old, and never held a baby in his life. He was more
scared than when we rode through burned villages on his motorbike.
I prayed for wisdom. I knew we must get the baby’s fever down
and some liquid in him. I told James to get the women to draw
some water from the well so we could bathe him to bring his
fever down. This caused horrible tension, as it was a ludicrous
idea to them to wet a sick child. I prayed and begged them
to trust me. After some time, they agreed but stood at a distance
glaring.
We asked a woman from the compound to look for a bottle. Hopefully,
there would be one somewhere in the village. She found one
worn rubbery nipple and a 4 oz. plastic bottle. We sterilized
both and tried to give Baby Elijah sterilized water. He would
not suck even though we poked and prodded him. The women glared
even more as I jostled Baby Elijah to wake him rather than
let him sleep.
Panicked, I powered up our satellite phone and was able to
reach Dr. Susan Ferguson Bradley, one of our team doctors
who would arrive in three weeks. She assured me the bath was
the right thing to do and instructed me on what to do next.
She said we must find an eyedropper and force water down him.
She also explained the correct dilution ratio of dehydration
salts to give an infant. 
The compound workers and I prayed and tended Baby Elijah carefully
around the clock for days. At times, his fever spiked so high
and his breath was so shallow, we thought surely he would
die at any moment. Many of the villagers seemed certain he
would, as there is a superstition that a dead mother will
call her infant to her from her grave. Many watched and mocked
our attempts to save the baby’s life.
I am convinced it was through the prayers of MWP supporters
that God worked through to save Baby Elijah’s life. God blessed
us with a wonderful “foster mother” in a nearby village who
now cares for him. Make Way Partners provides a sponsorship
for her family that enables this mother of five to bring Elijah
into her home. James, or someone from the compound, checks
on him weekly. He is thriving!
In the picture with me at six months old - his sponsor bought
him a cow so that he has a consistent source of food. When
he is old enough, he will have a secure place in the Make
Way Partners' New Life Ministry school, raising up Christian
Leadership in Sudan!
- Kimberly Smith, President
