by Hemed Jumaa
Baby Mo Masha Safari was admitted to The Good Life Orphanage on 29/10/17 after we were contacted by the Kilifi South Sub county children’s officer, who requested us to go and rescue him as he had been abandoned by his mother. As usual, we responded accordingly and upon arrival at the police station, the police officer in charge showed us the baby.

Mama Jane picks up our latest addition Baby Mohammed

Thanks to the quick actions of Zamzam and her children, Baby Masha had been saved from a very dangerous situation after they witnessed a young woman place the baby on the tarmac road. They hastily intervened and tried to question her why she was doing that but soon realised that she had mental health issues. The young mother told them she had not eaten in days and was in a dishevelled state. After giving the girl some food she disappeared into the night leaving them with the young baby. These good Samaritans tended to Baby Masha and brought him to the police station

Tina, Charlotte, Lydia & Mary greet Baby Mohammed

Baby Masha looked fine on his arrival at The GLO and was welcomed into O’Malley House under the care of Mama Jane, he was quickly a favourite with everyone. He received treatment for a medical condition and after a further six months got a clean bill of health. As with all our abandoned children we never give up hope of tracing their families and thanks to some very astute detective work on 7th May this year we managed to trace his dad who hails from Magongo.

Baby Mo getting big

He explained to us that the mother disappeared from their home and returned two days later without the baby, she was arrested but admitted to Port Reitz hospital where she underwent treatment for postnatal depression and was later discharged returning to her home at Tana County. Although we could see the father was happy to hear that his son was well, we also recognised that his lifestyle was not conducive to bringing up a young baby.

At 8 months old Baby Masha is a healthy & happy boy

After numerous discussions and with the consent of the children’s department, we held a meeting with both the parents and some of their important family members on 23rd May. Since his parents were not ready to reconcile, we both agreed that for the best interest of the baby, he should be exited to reunite with her mother under the supervision of the maternal grandmother. The young mother vaguely remembered the baby but Masha instinctively was drawn to her and his grandmother who was moved to tears on meeting her grandson.

Uncle Hemed with Masha

One month later, on 28th June, I travelled to Bura which is located in Tana River County to follow up on his progress. Upon arrival, Baby Mo Masha seemed to be a bit surprised and I could see it clearly he tried to recall my face for some seconds before smiling and expressing his excitement of seeing me by making noise as he tried hard to come towards me. I was very impressed with his progress, he bonded very well with his family and was well looked after.

Baby Mo July 2018

On inspecting his clinic card showed I could see he had added weight with 900 grams, also he could stand on his own and was learning how to walk. He was also learning how to talk and he called her mother by her name, imitating his grandmother. There were no any challenges of him accessing medication and based on my assessment, I have no doubt saying that he is under safe hands. After spending some hours with them, I travelled back to GLO the following day being an eye witness of how important a family is to a child.