Born on 24th of July 2015, Funny Lazaro was the first child born to Mr and Mrs Lazaro of Tchewerani village T/A Katumura Madisi in Dowa District. Her mother, Stella Cosmas, 19 at the time of pregnancy, had attended all her antenatal visits in readiness for her newborn baby girl.
When she was due to give birth, she went to Madisi Mission Hospital. At exactly 8PM, Funny was born, a bouncing baby girl. However, despite the efforts of the midwife, Funny did not let out her first cry. The mother and baby stayed at the hospital throughout the night and finally, Funny cried for the first time the next day around 4AM in the morning.
A few days later, they were discharged from the hospital. When they were about to leave, Funny started crying uncontrollably. They were readmitted but the child did not stop crying till the next day. When the doctors noticed that the condition was worsening, they referred them to Dowa District Hospital. The decision was then reversed by other doctors suggesting that Funny should be treated at the same hospital. Her condition improved and she was discharged from the hospital.
Six months later, Stella started training her child to sit down, as any mother would do. She noticed that her child was crying in pain during the session. She took her back to Madisi Mission Hospital for consultation with the doctors, where she was assured that the child was doing just fine and that she needed more time.
Eight months later Funny was still not able to support her neck or stand without help from her mother. She would also still cry whenever Stella tried to make her sit. The concerned mother took her again to Madisi mission hospital.
When she explained the condition of her child, Stella was embarrassed by the doctors claiming that she was too insistent and it was as though she wished to have a disabled child because of her frequent visits to the hospital. She returned home disappointed and without any help.
A year later, in 2016, Funny’s mother decided to visit another hospital for consultation again, because she noticed her daughter’s condition was deteriorating. She went with her child to Kasungu District Hospital. She was sent back home and told that the child was fine because she had a healthy-looking body.
Months passed by and Funny could still not sit up and was always in pain. Her mother always had to carry her on her back. One day Stella decided to visit another hospital, hoping that maybe there she would get the treatment Funny needed.
She was accompanied by her mother. They went to St Francisco Palau commonly known as Mtengowanthenga hospital. She explained all the health issues that her child was experiencing, but again they were not able to help and they went back home disillusioned.
She continued taking care of her child at home without any medical backup. The husband abandoned them and divorced because of the child’s condition. There was no further help from the father, in terms of providing basic needs, even though he knew he left a disabled child behind. The mother was struggling to provide for her child as she was unemployed.
At 4 years old, Funny was still not able to talk, walk or sit down on her own, bringing a lot of concern to her mother. They moved from Madisi Dowa District to Kasungu District at Mbeta village T/A Kaomba. In July 2019, her mother got the courage to go back to Kasungu District hospital. She went straight to the “Malawi Against Physical Disabilities” service. There she was warmly received. For the first time, doctors told her that her child was disabled and born with Cerebral Palsy (CP). The doctors advised her that Funny was expected to come once a month for physiotherapy treatment. By now, Stella had remarried and was expecting a second child very soon. Since she had to carry Funny on her back whenever she left home, it was difficult for her to get to the hospital. Despite the obstacles, she went to the physiotherapy session as often as possible. Unfortunately, due to the lack of treatment in her early years, no noticeable improvement resulted from these sessions.
In June 2021, her mother was promised a wheelchair as she was struggling to carry her daughter on the back, to and from the hospital. The wheelchair program was postponed because Funny had an oedema and suffered from severe malnutrition. Hence, Funny was enrolled in the Outpatient Therapeutic Feeding Program where she received ready to use therapeutic food (RUTF). This brought positive results. Funny was able to support her head and neck for the first time. However, she still could not sit up and suffered from skin infections caused by the environment where she slept.
During one of her physiotherapy sessions, Stella heard about Uhuru Child Care from another mother. Although she really wanted to reach out to us, she was scared due to her past experiences with hospitals.
At the beginning of August 2022, the UCC team visited Funny’s family in Mbeta village where she lives with her mother, stepfather, and her younger sibling. The stepfather, Mr James, has accepted Funny as his own but isn’t able to fully support her as he relies on low income jobs.
We noticed that Funny was always locked inside the bedroom whenever her mother went out, because she had no one to leave her with. The team advised Stella to let Funny play outside with her friends and enjoy the morning sunlight . She has understood that Funny has a right to play with her friends and promised to continue taking good care of her child.
