Tanzania
Meet Baracka
Last year drought struck in East Africa; villages across the region faced tough times. Many families lost their livestock to disease and lack of food and struggled to find enough for their children to eat. Two-year-old Baracka lost his mother to the drought. His grandmother cares for him now.
Without his mother’s milk, baby Baracka became severely malnourished. In his weakened state, Baracka developed tuberculosis. At two years old, he weighed only 10 pounds. Praying for a miracle, and with no other option for medical care, Baracka’s grandmother walked a full day to bring Baracka to the rural health clinic where Dr. Steven Friberg works.
At the health clinic Baracka received medicine to treat the tuberculosis. With access to medical care and supplemental nutrition, he is gaining weight. Thanks to Dr. Friberg, an ELCA missionary supported by your gifts to ELCA World Hunger, Baracka has been able to return home.