Sumaya
Born HIV+ Sumaya came to us when we were begged to do a home visit on the children’s behalf. The entire family, mom and six kids were living and starving in a one room tenement in the worst slum I have ever visited. Sumaya is one of the first children you are likely to meet at Tumaini. She is always smiling and laughing, and she loves to climb in your lap or hold your hand.
Story of Sumaya
DOB – August 11, 2012
Came under Tumaini care, 2015
There was not a bite of food . . . mom was so sick she couldn’t walk and we had to have her assisted to a hospital. It turned out Mom (also HIV+) had a TB tumour growing in her stomach and required immediate surgery.
Tumaini got the surgery for mom, rented a house and put all the school aged children into school. Mom would convalesce for a couple of months afterward, then began disappearing in the night, leaving big sister Hadija home alone to care for everyone.
About six months after mom’s surgery, one day, Hussein (we had put Hadija into boarding school) brought the younger children to Tumaini along with the keys to their house and informed us that mom had ridden away the night before with her mattress, on the back of a piki piki (motorcycle).
Sumaya is the younger sister of Hadija, Hussein, Swalehe, Malki and Rukaya.
Sumaya is a beautiful spirit. She is fun loving and a competitor, which leads to a bit of a wild streak when it comes to her and her Tumaini siblings. Sumaya is one of the first children you are likely to meet at Tumaini. She LOVES attention and isn’t afraid to show it. Sumaya always has a smile on her face, and even though she’s getting too big for it, Sumaya will always ask to be carried on your hip. Sumaya loves to play cards and changa (shuffle them), take pictures on your phone, and colour. She is healthy and stable today and practicing good ARV protocols and nutrition, it is expected that she will enjoy a long and healthy life!
