Tenderfeet Profiles: Moses Murigi

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Moses Murigi is a 5 year old orphan boy who grew up in Kibera, the largest slum in Africa. His mother and father died when he was little. Moses has an older brother named Brown and an older sister named Faith. Brown and Faith both went to a school for needy children called Tenderfeet. Almost all schools in Kenya cost money that Moses' family could not afford, but Tenderfeet is free.

When he became old enough to start at Tenderfeet in January 2007, he started going, too. Moses, together with siblings and cousins, all lived in a tiny shack and were raised by their Grandmother. He grew up in a home without running water, a bathroom, trash pickup, electricity, or any of the conveniences that most of us are used to.

In January of 2008, riots broke out all across Kenya, especially in Kibera where Moses lived. All of the people from the Kikuyu group became targets for the angry rioters, which sadly included Moses and his family. The little shack he lived in was burned down, along with everything he owned. His family barely escaped alive, and lived outside for many days in a camp for families like his.

With the help of Tenderfeet, Moses and his family got food supplies. The Tenderfeet team helped Moses' family find a safe place to live, and now they live in a new area called Riruta where Moses still goes to school at Tenderfeet. He is learning the important basics like reading, writing, and math which will be the key to him doing well in the next levels of his learning.

In Kenya, life is very hard for orphans like Moses. Most are not able to go to school and will grow up without the education that is needed to escape a life of poverty. Because of generous Tenderfeet donors in Australia, England, Canada, America, and many other countries, Moses has a great chance at a brighter future.
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Lucy is Going Home

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Lucy's hospital bill was paid. Huge thanks to Dan Holcomb for his hectic scrambling to get the wire transfer done, despite the fact he was leaving the next day to go to Uganda.

Now Lucy is feeling much better and her leg wound has been taken care of. She will go home first thing Friday morning. So once she fully recovers from the operation she had this past Monday, she should be OK for the long term.

Her hospital bill was paid by sponsors in Texas, an amount her family could never afford. Children in Kenya die every day because they can't pay for medical care, so we are deeply thankful that loving friends from far away have come to Lucy's rescue.

At right is a photo of Lucy taken by Mama Margaret last Saturday when Lucy was still dealing with the allergic reaction.

Lucy Updates

UPDATE WEDNESDAY, 9:00 PM KENYA TIME

Lucy should be discharged from the hospital on Thursday. She has recovered enough to go home, and if everything goes according to plan, she will be in Nyahururu by tomorrow night.

UPDATE TUESDAY, 5:00 PM KENYA TIME

I spoke with Lucy and her dad today. She was very tired but doing better. The swelling and rash have gotten much better.

The hospital won't tell them how much the bill is or when she is supposed to be discharged. So we're playing the waiting game right now. Hopefully, tomorrow, we'll know more.

Overall, it's very good news that she has responded to the excellent hospital care.

UPDATE MONDAY, 9:00 PM KENYA TIME

Lucy underwent surgery on her leg today. The doctors removed bad tissue (I think that means damaged and/or infected) and sealed the sore (I'm not sure how they sealed it).

She is recovering and we're hoping this will fix the problem once and for all. Thank you for your prayers and concern.

We're supposed to find out the hospital bill tomorrow. If you would like to assist, please contact me at dmitchell@lahash.net.

UPDATE SUNDAY, 9:00 PM KENYA TIME

I sent an SMS to Mama Margaret to ask if she had any updates on Lucy. Here is her reply:

Maybe tomorrow in the afternoon I have the information on Lucy. Please be patient, all will be fine but even if Lucy is smiling her health is not good. We continue praying for God to heal her.

UPDATE SATURDAY, 6:00 PM KENYA TIME

Today Mama Margaret traveled to Kijabe (about 2 or 3 hours by bus) to visit Lucy and Lucy's mom. Lucy's dad has returned to Nyahururu to take care of Lucy's younger sister Shiro.

Lucy's mom is staying in the room with Lucy, but didn't even have any money to buy meals for herself. Margaret took some money to help Lucy's mom be able to buy some meals in the hospital cafeteria.

Margaret stayed a few hours and said Lucy was still not fully recovered from the allergic reaction (rash and swelling). Lucy was not feeling very well, but in Margaret's words "could still afford a smile". I spoke briefly with Lucy and managed to get her to chuckle a little bit at some of my small jokes.

The main problem now is the deep sore on the back of her leg that won't heal. It needs to be operated on again, probably Monday. It's badly infected and the tissue has never healed back after the permanent stitches were removed last year. The doctors will go in and clean and hopefully can put in some stitches or a similar solution that will allow it to finally heal.

The reason it got so infected is probably because she was on break last month and was more idle and sitting down than she is during school, allowing the bacteria to really make headway.

Margaret said when Lucy arrived in Kijabe, things were very desperate and if it had been much longer it may have been too late for Lucy. The sad thing is if she had been properly diagnosed in Nyahururu, it would not have gotten so bad, but the hospital in Nyahururu misdiagnosed the problem and gave Lucy de-worming medication instead of recognizing the real issue.

UPDATE FRIDAY, 6:00 PM KENYA TIME

Lucy is still suffering from a rash and is very swollen, but they have given her medicine to neutralize the allergic reaction to the other medicine.

Her wound (the same one from 2007 that has never healed properly) was cleaned, treated and dressed today. The infection has gotten into the bloodstream so they are treating her for septicemia (blood poisoning). This is also related to her kidney problem, because the kidneys were not properly filtering impurities.

Lucy is very uncomfortable because of the rash and swelling but is not in extreme pain. She is terribly upset, however, about missing school which shows what kind of special girl she is.

Margaret is going to try to visit tomorrow and get a full assessment of the situation, including how long Lucy will need to remain in the hospital. Fortunately, thanks to her sponsors, she has NHIF, which is a Kenyan insurance that helps cover room and board.

However, the hospital will not release her until the full bill is paid, and the expenses are adding up with tests, procedures, and medication. If you would like to assist in her costs, please contact me at dmitchell@lahash.net.

UPDATE THURSDAY, 9:45 PM KENYA TIME

I received the following set of text messages from Lucy's dad (pictured right with Lucy in 2007). More updates will be provided as they become available tomorrow.

We went there and she was given various tests, even a kidney X-Ray. The results showed the kidney is OK, but one is smaller. About the swelling, they said it is an allergy to the medicine because she has taken for a long time.

Now she has been admitted because of the wound. It will be operated on tomorrow. We hope God will be the great doctor.

Please Pray for Lucy

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Lucy Thama recently turned 13 years old. She is in 6th grade and has had a very difficult life.

She was born a conjoined ("Siamese") twin, but the other twin was never living. They were separated at 9 months by a kindhearted surgeon who did the procedure for free. When she was 4 years old, she lost the feeling and use of her legs and since then has been paralyzed from the waist down.

In 2007, she almost died from a terrible infection on her leg, the sore was so big and deep it almost went to the bone. She received a skin graft at Kijabe hospital and recovered over a period of months (read about it here). Soon thereafter, she and her family was almost killed during the post-election riots (the story is here).

After the riots, her family relocated in the peaceful area of Nyahururu and thanks to her sponsors, she has been attending a wonderful school and has done great the past 18 months. Please see photo of Lucy with some of her textbooks, taken in January 2009.

Recently, she has fallen quite ill, and now the situation is very serious. One doctor said her kidneys may have failed, and another said it was a reaction to medicine she was taking. She will travel to Kijabe hospital (about 3 hours away), leaving at 2:00 AM this morning, to arrive at 5:00 AM. Her parents are at the end of their rope, and they can't stand to see Lucy suffer.

Please pray for Lucy and her family. You will never meet a more sweet, fun, and lively girl. She is bright and happy, and it is heartbreaking to see her going through so much pain. Please stay tuned for updates soon.