The phone rang and upon answering it we instantly knew it was an emergency. Our sweet, Sheila of HOOL (Hope for Orphans Organization-Luuka) had fainted and was non-responsive to her caregiver as she laid on the mud floor of the hut. She had been able to play just earlier in the day and unlike many cases of Malaria, there had not been flu-like symptoms leading up to her horrible condition. Two of our directors raced around Iganga (about an hour’s drive from Luuka), looking to locate a vehicle to rent. It is quite complicated for us to find transportation and renting a car often doubles the price of the things we have to be able to do for the children since HOOL currently doesn’t own a vehicle (please pray with us for funding in this area). The villages where the children live, go to school, need to go to the hospitals in are all located on rough roads that are many miles (kilometers) apart. By the time the directors were able to locate and rent a car, hours had passed. They arrived at the hut in Luuka and were able to carry Sheila to the car and drive as quick as thieves to Peace Hospital in Bukanga, Uganda. The staff quickly prepared Sheila and put her on an IV drip of anti-Malaria medicine to fight off the horrible, parasite-filled disease spread mainly my mosquitoes in the blood. It is the leading cause of sickness and death in Uganda, with often over 100,000 people dying per year just in our small country. We feel very blessed that a HOOL supporter had sent emergency funding to have on hand in case any child were to go through a life threatening injury or disease. We have always hoped to have some back up savings, but with all the desperate needs here in Uganda, it is difficult to be able to keep on hand. We are hoping that with supporters help, maybe we’ll be able to be more prepared. God has blessed us many times by sending someone to help in a moment of need with Malaria. This was one of the most desperate times with the disease that we had seen in awhile. Usually we are able to identify a case of this disease by the flu-like symptoms a person gets for a couple of days before getting to the point of losing conscientiousness as Sheila did.
After an hour or so of Sheila being on the medication, she regained conscientiousness and was able to begin responding to those helping her.
Please join us in prayer for this precious child’s recovery as well as the safety and protection of the other children in poverty here in Uganda. We are praising God for keeping this child with us. It was such a scare to see her in that condition! For those of you who don’t have to deal with Malaria firsthand and are able to watch the movie, Mary and Martha, it will give you a look into what we were and could have been dealing with.
For those of you interested in helping with emergency funds, sponsoring a child, or any of the other things we do here at HOOL, please visit our donation page HERE. Thank you and God bless!
Open your mouth for the speechless,
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and needy.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Sheila (right) saying goodbye to Edward from New York City last November
