Dedicated care for twin babies in rural South Sudan

This summer, we are working to raise funds for the Mary Ward Primary Health Care Centre (PHCC) in the rural village of Maker Kuei, South Sudan, where a current outreach programme run by the Loreto Sisters is supporting the vital health and nutritional needs of twin children from vulnerable households in the local community. The health care centre has long served as a lifeline for local families who have extremely limited access to healthcare, and this programme addresses the specific needs of twin babies at high risk of malnutrition and disease. The babies receive dedicated medical and nutritional care, while their families and caregivers are educated and empowered to be able to continue to care for themselves and their children beyond the boundaries of the programme. “Each mother who walks through its doors finds not just treatment for her child, but also knowledge, confidence, and a network of care that endures beyond the programme,” write the PHCC team. 

For mothers like Mary Amat, the PHCC’s nutrition and twins’ programmes have been nothing short of life-changing. “The nutrition programme is a great help to this community and most especially to me with my twin babies,” Mary shared, carrying her now lively children. “My children had a lot of health issues because I was not producing enough milk and couldn’t afford the powdered milk in the market because it is simply too expensive for us”. When Mary first brought her twins to the PHCC, they were ten months old but weighed as much as five-month-old infants due to prolonged undernourishment. “I couldn’t believe they became this healthy after the nine months that they have been in the program,” she says with a bright smile. Through the twins and nutrition programmes, Mary has received free medical care, medication, and immunisations which have been vital for a struggling young mother determined to give her children a better start. 

The structured programme runs for a nine-month period to restore the children to health, while education is also put in place for caregivers to sustain these improvements at home following discharge. New children are then enrolled, in a “continuous cycle of assessment, intervention, and education which ensures that the programme remains dynamic and responsive to the changing needs of the community,” the PHCC team say. 

Other mothers struggle to avail of the life-changing services offered by the programme, including Tabitha Yar, whose journey to the PHCC was not an easy one.

“I didn’t know that I would come for the nutrition programme because my husband has a very big ego and did not want me to be seen taking the babies to the clinic for food supplements,” Tabitha explains. With her husband often away in the cattle camps and providing little support, Tabitha struggled to feed her children adequately. “Through the chief’s wife, we were able to convince him that the children’s health was at risk and that is when we joined the programme.” 

Over the next three months, Tabitha began to see a remarkable change in her babies’ health. “In the programme, we have received milk, porridge, food, medicine, soap, and even clothes for the babies,” she says. “One thing I also like is that we have been trained on how to take proper care of the babies and even establish gardens around our homes to plant vegetables for use during the dry seasons. I feel more empowered now and keep sharing this with other new mothers in the community.” 

For the past five years, Fr Alan Neville MSC has been ministering alongside the Loreto Sisters in Maker Kuei, working closely with Sr Orla and the PHCC team. The Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have a long-standing friendship with the Loreto Sisters, with our mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province providing the Rumbek community with great support in past years. 

This year, MSC Missions are working to help the Mary Ward PHCC to raise funds to support the Healthy Start facility for vulnerable baby twins in Maker Kuei, covering 50 sets of twins. This will fund the cost of medicines and medical supplies, nutritional supplements and powdered milk to help malnourished mothers where they cannot produce enough breastmilk to feed both babies, and will also support the cost of a dedicated nurse and intern for the programme. 

“By supporting this initiative, the project will help strengthen early childhood health, reduce preventable deaths among twin babies, and empower caregivers with knowledge that promotes sustainable health practices,” the PHCC team tell us.

 

“Ultimately, the project aims not only to save lives but also to create a healthier and more resilient community where every child, regardless of background, has the opportunity to survive and thrive.” 

Read more about Fr Alan’s mission in South Sudan  here.