A sound mind in a sound body.
Life on the street does not have a positive impact on the health and proper development of children. Glue sniffing, malnutrition, lack of proper hygiene and valuable nutrients result in boys ending up in our Ciloto facilities with serious health problems. The above-mentioned factors most frequently cause disorders of the nervous system, cardiovascular system, digestive tract, urinary tract infections, negatively affect bone structure and abnormal growth. Furthermore, due to the lack of hygiene facilities, boys often develop skin problems in the form of scabies or fungal infections.
In addition to the problems mentioned above, we treat the boys on a daily basis for ailments such as headaches, stomach aches, flu and colds. As you can imagine, our young friends are very active, so they often report to the caregivers with injuries after playing football, climbing trees and other injuries and cuts.
Some of our pupils also suffer from sickle cell anaemia, a genetically determined disease common in central and southern Africa that causes abnormal haemoglobin structure. If the patient does not take appropriate medication, many complications can occur, including multiple organ failure or even death. Unfortunately, the specialized medicines that need to be taken on a daily basis are very expensive, making it beyond the reach of slum dwellers.
In response to the growing problem of streetism and poverty in the slum district of Makululu, we decided to open a second facility – an intensive rehabilitation centre called Ciloto 2, where we provide treatment to support recovery from addiction to glue and various substances that the boys came into contact with while living on the streets.
Thanks to the support of our donors, we are able to provide medicines to our patients, not only those in our facilities, but also those who have happily left our centre and returned to their homes as part of the reintegration programme. Often we meet with the families to deliver the necessary medication to the patients, make sure the reintegrated boy is definitely taking his regular doses and check his health status.
The number of children in our regular care ranges from 60 to 80 boys. The amount of medication and dressings needed with such a large number of pupils is sometimes really high. However, together with our benefactors, we make every effort to ensure that our boys are healthy, develop properly and have the strength to explore the world, learn and play. After all, a sound mind dwells in a sound body!
