Giving children without parental care a home in Cameroon

Stephen* was only three months old when his paralyzed mother’s deteriorating health situation forced her to stop breastfeeding him. In February 2009, Stephen's 28-year-old mother died, leaving the one-year-old without a mother.

Stephen is the last of four children in a family that had only their maternal great-grandmother to care for them. This caregiver was over 70 years old and had been chased out of her village of origin with the children by her brother, following a struggle for inheritance.

After taking refuge with other elderly couples, she ended up at a Roman Catholic mission in another village, Obout, where she was offered a temporary home and short-term care.

When the burden of caring for the children became too much for the old woman, the missionaries referred them to SOS Children’s Villages, and they were admitted into an SOS family in Mbalmayo, Cameroon.

Poor state of health

Stephen was admitted before his siblings because his physical condition required urgent attention. SOS mother, Aline, who is giving proper care to this child now, personally took the child from his biological great-grandmother with tears in her eyes.

The day Stephen joined his SOS family in Mbalmayo, he was in a state of hunger and had not bathed, wearing a white dress that had completely turned brown. He looked sickly with red hair and loose, dehydrated skin that portrayed the signs of severe malnutrition.

“When the great-grandmother handed the child to me, the toddler groaned. I deduced that he groaned against a second separation [after the first with her biological mother]” explained his SOS mother, Aline.

On her part, the child’s great-grandmother told her baby while crying, “I’m not rejecting you. It is because I do not have the means. I will always come to visit you.”

The emotional touch was visible on the face of everyone present, including the SOS social worker and the director of the SOS family program in Mbalmayo, who, acting in the spirit of a loving father, quickly rushed to a nearby shop and bought biscuits for the 14-month-old baby who had not eaten anything for the day, and it was already getting to midday.

The SOS coworkers took Stephen to a hospital in Metet, another town about 15km from Obout, where his health was examined by a medical doctor who had met this child before through the missionaries.

Warm reception

Upon arrival, little Stephen was warmly received by his new family and other SOS families in Mbalmayo. The other SOS children were cheerful, while the SOS mothers were crying as they saw the child in a deplorable situation.

The child was creeping, babbling and weighed 6kg when he was taken to the SOS Medical Centre the following day, and the SOS medical doctor discovered that he was malnourished, was infected by worms and had other food deficiency complications.

The doctor recommended artificial feeding for the child, including vitamins to stimulate his appetite and an appropriate treatment for worms and amoebae.

Quick integration

One week later, Stephen began playing with the other SOS children in the family house. According to his SOS mother, two of his SOS sisters used to scramble every morning to bathe him.

“And I observed them, satisfied,” she added.

Eventually, his countenance changed, and he became the boy of another SOS child in the family house No. 6. After two months with his SOS family, he began to walk, and three months later, he could call every member of his SOS family by their names.

He was fond of greeting everyone, including unfamiliar faces, and this contributed to his complete integration into the SOS family.

After 18 months, Stephen was registered in the SOS Kindergarten. He spent three years in kindergarten with impressive performance and has maintained it since being promoted to primary school.

Intelligent boy

During the 2013/2014 academic year, Stephen was promoted to primary two, with an average of 17/20, and was awarded a prize for encouragement for being among the best pupils in his class. The following academic year, he was again promoted to the next class with the same score and received two prizes: the best student award at the SOS Children's Villages Primary School and a second prize for outstanding classroom performance.

Stephen says he is happy to live in an SOS family because he plays football and races with his friends. He is inspired by his teacher and is already dreaming of becoming a teacher in the future.

“She writes on the blackboard and explains lessons to children,” said Stephen while talking about his admiration for his teacher.

His SOS mother said: “He helps his SOS sister in the evening to study, when she cannot read a word or text.”

Stephen relates well to his biological siblings.

“I live well with Stephen. We like to play together, and I tell him stories about animals. I help him do his homework, and he makes me happy when he is among the best six pupils in his class,” explained his 11-year-old biological brother, Ernest*

His biological sister, Irène*, aged 13, described her younger brother as handsome, wise and clean.

“He behaves and thinks like an elderly person. I love Stephen because he is very intelligent,” she said.

According to his class teacher, Ms. Nice, Stephen is a very receptive child with a bright future.

Although Stephen’s great-grandmother is very old now, she still fulfills her promise by visiting him whenever it is possible for her to do so.

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*Names changed to protect privacy