Below is the email message I received from Andy, one of our MCWA missionaries after his visit to Aissa's village this afternoon. Emmanuel is the social worker from the Bethlehem Foundation where we hope to send Aissa to school.
"I went to Aissa's village today. Aissa is doing well, her ear infection has cleared up on its own and her face is healing really well but she is looking a lot
thinner and her arm circumference measurement is down by 1 cm (now 16cm). After
Yanga
(the nurse) had done his checks she went and got a couple of games and sat there with him happily playing while Emanuel talked with Jean.
Emanuel was very good about finding out information and he could tell some
things were not adding up. Then a family member came in. He revealed
that Jean was in fact the true biological father of Aissa and her sister.
Yanga remembers some confusion when Aissa was first brought to the hospital
and the doctors and nurses being forceful about who was the father and so
maybe Jean got scared and decided being the Uncle was a safer bet. Anyway
all is now in the open ..... Jean's wife left a few years ago and Jean has
been bringing up the two ever since with the help of his mother. In the
past he has been away at times in search of work leaving the two girls with
his mother.
Emanuel still agrees that the Bethlehem Foundation is the best place for Aissa and her sister and Jean and the grandmother have both given their consent too. Jean
actually worked at the Foundation a few years ago, helping with the harvest so he knows of the place. He is keen to accompany the 2 girls there when we take them
and is on board with the holiday visits and keeping up the contact with
them.
Emanuel thought it would be good for Aissa and her sister to go at the end
of the month. August is traditionally a hard time with little food and
access to the village can be harder so we settled on Friday 30th of July. I
will go and collect Jean and the girls and take them to Mouda and then bring
Jean back to the Mokolo Carrefour and put him on a clando for home. The
girls will then start living at Mouda and return for visits to the village
in the holidays.
It was really good to have Emanuel go with us, he has so much experience in
these kinds of cases and now knows where Aissa's village is located so will
be able to organize the future contact with the family.
All for now
Andy"
