The Loftiest Towers Rise From the Ground: The Story of Brenda Liwonde

Meet Brenda Liwonde. She is a healthy looking 4-year-old girl who is cheerful and full of life. Brenda lives in Walamwa Village with her single mother and attends Maera CBCC (Community Based Childcare Centre) like many of the other children in her village. At first glance you would think she is just like any other child her age. But beneath the surface of what seems to be an ordinary girl lies years of complications that have affected her development, both physically and psychologically.

At just a few months old, Brenda had a terrible illness that is said to have been a combination of malaria and anemia when first diagnosed by doctors. The condition worsened and caused her to have convulsions and a stiff neck for quite some time. The medication she was receiving at a health centre did not help matters. Her mother and grandmother soon gave up on Brenda’s treatment. It is believed that this severe illness was the cause of several of her developmental milestones being delayed. Normally, a healthy child is expected to start taking their first steps between 11 to 15 months. Brenda started walking not so long ago at 3 years.  In addition, Brenda is also challenged by what would be considered to be her biggest hindrance, which is her inability to neither hear nor speak.

Enumerators taking a census in her village discovered Brenda’s speech and hearing impairment. The case was reported to Save the Children’s field staff while they were conducting an Essential Package baseline survey. The baseline survey under Save the Children’s ECCD (Early Childhood Care and Development) project mainly aims at holistically addressing the needs of children and their caregivers. Hearing about Brenda’s story moved the Save the Children team greatly. “When meeting Brenda, we realized there truly was a need. We immediately saw the vibrancy of life and the potential in her. She was not given the opportunity to play with other children in her community or go to a CBCC school because of her inability to communicate, which was unacceptable,” said one of the staff. The need was to change this. The team soon referred Brenda to Maera CBCC where she would have the opportunity to learn and grow like any other child.

After spending time with the family, the team began to find out more about Brenda. Sadly, it was discovered that her health issues were not the only challenges that this little girl faced. She had been subjected to traumatic experiences in her early life that affected her psychologically and possibly with her health. Brenda grew up in a home with a lot of marital problems. She was a victim of the tension between her mother and father both physically and emotionally. She suffered abuses and was left unattended and deserted on several occasions. Its unknown to what degree these events impacted Brenda’s health growing up.

At the end of every tunnel there is light and in the case of Brenda, her future is not bleak. To start with, she is able to coordinate normally in areas such as responding to signals and continues to progress in others. All she needed was referral support. Today, Brenda is receiving care through different support groups. When her case was discovered she was taken to Montfort Nguludi Audiology clinic for an assessment. It was discovered that she had an acute hearing impairment after an audiology manual and vibratory assessment. The clinician attending to her also saw great potential in Brenda and recommended support that would change the course of her life; the purchasing of hearing aids for her speech development and her enrollment in a special needs school. Montfort Nguludi made a request to the Starkey Hearing Foundation for two hearing aids that the family would have otherwise not been able to afford.

On the surface it may seem like this young girl’s life is overshadowed by challenges that cannot be overcome. On the contrary, Brenda is a girl with a bright future and plenty of joy. Because of the right support around her, Brenda will be given hearing aids that will assist in improving her vibratory reception and help boost her speech development. She will also be given the attention she deserves at the special needs school. This will allow her to be free from worrying about whether or not she will receive her rights as a child. She will have the opportunity to play, learn and grow up believing that she can be successful just like any other child. As you begin to unravel the layers that conceal people’s lives you discover that every person has a story and something unique in them. Within Brenda lays a child with so much to offer, but who was simply not given a chance.

Written by Akuzike Zingani, Early Childhood Care and Development Facilitator