April 29 2019 was a special day in the history of ELWA hospital. Before that day the hospital had been doing good work for sure but children came in only small numbers.
April 29 was the day we officially opened the ELWA paediatric department, offering reduced price care to children under 5 years of age. The numbers of children jumped from 35 each month to 70 by the end of June…. and the ceiling has been getting higher ever since.
The next month our team realised that there was a need to improve access to the ward and take care of children before they became too critical. Out of this desire grew the under 5 outpatient clinic. Since July, this clinic has become the first entry point for the many children who are brought to ELWA in the hope of a refuge from the many illnesses and dangers of Liberia. Tens of thousands have come through since.
What began as a small partnership to care for a few more children in a hospital in Liberia between a few people in Swansea and Liberia soon began to grow. By July we were able to partner with the ministry of health to launch the hospital’s malnutrition program, which now stands as the biggest in Liberia. All starting from humble beginnings with just 6 beds for inpatient children and a weekly feeding clinic.
As COVID-19 hit throughout 2020, our program faced an uncertain future. Would we even be able to operate as many hospitals around us closed and supply chains became increasingly fragile? Amazingly, during the pandemic the program not only remained strong but grew, becoming a refuge for the many thousands of malnourished children affected by the economic problems and illnesses which could not be treated elsewhere.
Every year since, more children have been treated through the ELWA hospital paediatric department with improving mortality rates year by year. I could talk about the ETAT plus training which has changed the lives of thousands of children by training healthcare workers how to recognise danger signs and how to manage these children well. I could share about the many infrastructure improvements over the last few years which have improved access to the hospital.
But the most important part of this journey is the children who have been helped by our team. 5 years into this we are seeing children who were admitted as newborns needing oxygen, then brought back with other childhood illnesses, getting well and then eventually coming back for visits when well and thriving.
Last month a pair of 4 year old twins came to visit under 5 clinic with their grandmother. Purely for the opportunity to thank our team for the dedicated work and the service to the children in Liberia. Both little girls were brought by their grandmother to the ELWA newborn care space in 2020 when they had just been born at a local clinic. They were both desperately unwell, very floppy and barely breathing. In the past their care would not have been possible at ELWA, but thanks to our growing team as soon as they arrived they were both put straight onto our CPAP system and started on fluids.
Every day we saw a little improvement, and by day 4 they were both able to feed well. Somehow their weight increased every day with both babies soon able to have the energy to breathe normally again. Within two weeks they were home and dry, able to feed and back to doing normal baby things.
That could have been the end of the story, but it wasn’t! When one of them got malaria, our under 5 clinic was able to get them treated extremely quickly before they got to the point of needing admission. Another day, her sister needed help at the weekend as she was breathing too fast and couldn’t feed well. Incredibly our ER team was able to step in and start oxygen and much needed antibiotics. Both are now thriving and ready to start school! Being able to give comprehensive care means we are able to build connections with the families who come and become deeply invested.
Our biggest win I believe is the children, the many little ones able to now experience a childhood and to grow up into whatever God has for them in later life. Childhood in Liberia is fragile. To hold a family’s hand through a small part of that journey is a privilege we will never take for granted.
With our dedicated team and network of supportive partners the future is brighter for the children in Liberia. I’m excited for the children’s lives who will be saved over the next 5 years and beyond!
