In Nakawa Division was a severely malnourished one-year-old girl (SK) and her HIV-positive mother who were both battling tuberculosis and were on the brink of tragedy. Poverty, disease and hopelessness weighed heavily on their fragile lives, until community health workers from Reach Out Mbuya community Health Initiative stepped in.
With swift action and support from ROM staff under the Local Partners Health Services project funded by USAID, SK began TB treatment and nutritional therapy. Her mother received TB care, counselling and was also connected to vital social support from ROM’s Orphans and Vulnerable Children Project. In the eight months, love, care and consistent follow-up have transformed their lives.
Today, SK is a thriving toddler; healthy, smiling and full of life. Her mother, tearfully grateful said; “ROM gave me back my only child and a reason to live.”
This powerful story is a testament to the impact of integrated, compassionate care. When health systems work together, lives are not just saved, they are rebuilt. Many thanks to our donors who make this possible!
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A second chance at Life: How Love, Care, and Commitment Saved a mother and Her Baby.
A Frail Cry for Help
In the quiet corners of Nakawa Division, a one-year-old girl (SK) was silently fighting for her life. On August 15, 2024, community volunteers identified her and connected her to a facility for evaluation. A TB diagnosis was confirmed. Frail, weak, and dangerously underweight at just 6.3 kg, her tiny arm measured a MUAC of only 9 cm, a clear sign of severe acute malnutrition. But her struggle didn’t end there. Her mother, a peasant living with HIV, had also been diagnosed with TB. Both mother and child faced a double tragedy: poverty, disease, and the silent fear of what tomorrow might bring.
Two lives, bound by love and burdened by disease, stood on the edge of despair.
A Ray of Hope.
But hope arrived dressed in the form of compassionate health workers.
The child was immediately enrolled in TB care, along with a strict nutritional therapy plan. Her mother also started her TB treatment, supported by counselling, daily follow-up visits, and the love of the community health team that never gave up on them. She was also linked to the ROM OVC program for social support. It wasn’t just the medicine they received; it was dignity, attention, and care.
Today, eight months later, the transformation is truly miraculous.
The little girl who once lay limp in her mother’s arms now walks confidently, with sparkling eyes and laughter in her voice. She weighs a healthy 15 kg, and her MUAC has improved to a remarkable 13 cm. Her body is strong, her smile infectious. With tears in her eyes and a smile full of gratitude, the mother shared,
‘’You saved us. You gave me back my baby, and gave me a reason to live,” the mother says through tears of joy. “I will never forget what you did for us.” She said.
A Testament to Integrated Care. This inspiring journey reminds us that when TB, HIV, and malnutrition care are delivered with compassion and consistency, lives can be saved and futures restored. What began as a desperate cry for help became a powerful story of survival, resilience, and hope.
