Mzugulira village, Tribal Authority Khombedza, Salima District … The team from Action for Progress arrived at his village, and his mother brought him out on her back. Seven-year-old Smith Kenamau saw the men assembling one of the green and yellow hand-peddled child mobility units, and his eyes never left what they were doing. One could almost sense the need, and the longing, for what was about to happen.
“I have been praying day in and day out for this kind of help. Each morning when I wake up, I am really worried about my son’s future, as I watch other children going to school while Smith stays at home. Now, I am very happy with this kind of mobility unit. I will try my best to make sure Smith never misses class once I enroll him in the next academic calendar,” Feliza his mother assured us. “Up to now, he could only watch as his friends passed our house on their way to and from school. Now he can go with them.”
Smith’s problems started when he was two months old. “One day he fell unconscious,” his mother recalled, “and when he regained consciousness, we took him to the hospital. He has had malaria, the doctor reported, and he will never walk. “There was nothing we could do.”
The right size unit was chosen, and his mother helped Smith into the seat to begin the journey into his future. “How is it Smith,” asked one of the Action for Progress people. With a big smile on his face, Smith responded, “yes”. As the team waved and said goodbye it was evident, they had made a major impact on the life of this young boy and his family.
For more pictures of Smith Kenamau go to https://www.flickr.com/photos/malawiproject/?
