Abson

We met Abson in a small squatter camp just outside of Bulawayo, a place called Springfeild. We'd be visitng squatters all day, giving out food and blankets and things, and we weren't in very good moods. (at least I wasn't), mainly because I was sick of giving supplies to a few families, while huge mobs of desperate people chased us. It felt like we were doing so little good as there was lots of need.
Anyway, we got to where Abson lived and it was just like every where else. Lots of thin, dirty kids and a few women. We gave out some nesseceties, and played with the little ones. Me and another member wanded round behind their houses (well, not houses, just little shelters), and we saw a baby boy sitting in the dirt. The little boy wasn't moving, or making any noise, and when I started to talk to him he didn't respond. He was covered in flies, dirt, and even blood, and hadn't had his nappy changed in weeks. I called out to Mum, as I was really schocked by his condition, and couldn't figure it out. She came over and we got to work changing him. What we saw made me really angry....He hadn't been changed in so long, his skin was peeling off, and he hadn't had any water, so his kidneys were failing. (Mum is a nurse, and she said that must be why he was so bloated and bleeding) He was clearly in a lot of pain.
We fixed him up as much as we could, and tried to find out why he;d been so neglected. (The other children weren't exactly well-off, but their mothers did keep them clean and look after them as well as they could.)
We wanted to know why Abson was any different. What we found out was that his mother died of AIDS, and his father simply left. His family, apparently because of superstitious beliefs, had left him to die alone in the sun.
We begged his grandparents to take him to hospital, but they made lots of excuses (too busy, too old etc) We couldn't take him ourselves coz in Zimbabwe only relatives can admit children too hospital. In the end, we bribed them 2 million zim bucks ('bout $10 Aussie, a lot to them) to take him.
Abson died a few days later. I am just glad that he died in a cool hospital, instead of in the sun, and I believe that he is with Jesus now, and not in pain any more.
There are lots more little ones like Abson out there, but there are also people working to help such children. If you want to have a look at some of this work, go to www.abandonedzimbabies.org