Lil' Emmanuel is spending Easter with the Lord

We have received word that little Emmanuel, who struggled so hard sharing his body with millions of worms, has passed on in the village in which he was taken. As expected, the little fellow could not survive, even with the worms gone from his body, without the nourishment his mother could give to him his chances of survival weakened. He was a fighter, which is indicated by the fact that he lasted this long (over a week) without the sustenance he required.

This is the difficulty in this type of work, there are those times when you do all you can but the differences in culture prevent the complete cure. The parents, under pressure from those who lived far away, believed that "traditional medicine" is what he needed. Therefore, diverting him from the very nourishment he needed the most. So sad.

Reality dictates that Emmanuel's chances of survival have never been good. He was in too bad a shape for too long a time. But treating the malnutrition, once the worms were gone, - there was a chance and we were prepared to go full speed ahead to give it all we had. James & the St. Laurence House Family, Mako, Pa Foday - the whole village - we were ready to be there to help Emmanuel. This speaks of the huge heart of Nazareth House. This ordeal with Emmanuel saddens us but it doesn't deter us - we continue on, doing what we are called to do.

We continue our $collection$ to buy worm medications. Internal parasite infestation is rampant and there are very few organizations dealing with the situation in Sierra Leone. We are small but we do not give up at NHA. $3 buys one worm pill (a significant discount compared to the price of one pill at a pharmacy ($9-$12)). For well established cases of worms, it takes 6 pills - which means that $18 will cure someone of worms. We are also teaching the hygiene habits that must go along with the treatment. Education at every level is so very important.