05/02/2003

This baby has a form of dwarfism.  Although he is two years old, he is the size of a 10-month old baby.  The baby and his family are from an outlying village in the Marsh areas.  His grandmother brought him to the hospital because he has diarrhea.  In the village where they live, animals and people share the same watering hole.  The village has a shortage of water due to the draining of their land in the past years.  The baby’s parents have three other children who are all in good health at the moment – but the parents do not have jobs.  There is a primary health care center in their village, but there is only one doctor for 2,000 people and there are no drugs.  The baby’s grandmother explained that they have no hope for the future.  They have suffered and there are too many problems.  She explained, “We lost all of our cattle and our rich farmland over the years.  There are no more fish, no more water or animals.  We want our marshland to come back and we want to live in a peaceful way now.”