This set of triplets was born in August 2008. Mrs. Namaleu was contacted by the nursery nurse to follow up due to reports that the mother was failing to provide sufficient breast milk and that the babies were failing to thrive. Since that point Mrs. Namaleu has been visiting them and providing supplementary formula.
The morning of November 13th 2008, Mrs. Namaleu phoned the village chief who told us to come and that we would find the mothers and her babies. We took a minibus to Mitundu and then a 40 minute bicycle ride to the village.
When we arrived the grandmother of the triplets told us her daughter left the previous week to follow her husband to Mozambique. After some discussion and explanation by the grandmother to the bicycle drivers we were told that the village in Mozambique was not far and we could reach their and return, “in good time.” Four hours later at the border, the Mozambican police officer laughed at our plan to reach the village and return in the same day. After deciding that it would not be a good idea to leave the formula with the border guard, we turned back.
Thankfully word reached the family in Mozambique and they contacted Mrs. Namaleu to arrange a meeting a Bwaila. The three babies came on the backs on their mother and two grandmothers in the company of their father.
All babies are growing well but they will need close supervision over the coming year to ensure they continue to develop well. We gave them formula and clothes and made a plan for our next meeting in Mitundu (not Mozambique).
