Mozambique: Claudina’s war against malaria

Claudina Lembe, 27, works tirelessly to combat malaria in her Mozambican community.

She knows firsthand the voracity of this disease - it took the life of her beautiful baby girl.

Because of her life experience and her desire to defeat malaria, she joined World Vision as a communications officer in early 2008. She says, “I give my energy in the malaria work. I volunteer to do this work because I see a way to help other families, mothers and fathers, who daily lose their son. During my fieldwork with families when they told about losing someone, I was crying with them because I know the pain they feel.”

“On May 24, 2008, I lost a beautiful girl, only six months old. I am not like to open to anyone on this subject because it was very painful. My Condoleezza started with fevers at night. The next day started with a mini-diarrhoea. I took her to the hospital to be tested and [they] said it was simple fevers. . . . ”

Two days later, Condoleezza’s temperature climbed. Claudina took the baby back to the hospital. The nurses administered malaria medicine and told her the sickness would pass quickly.

Home again, Claudina gave her daughter the medicine, but she continued to have a very high fever. Once again, the frantic mother returned to the hospital—and once again the baby was tested. This time the doctors determined that Condoleezza had to be hospitalized for treatment.

After two days, the baby was released and for five days she appeared healthy. But on the sixth day, the crying and fever returned. When she arrived at the hospital, a nurse told Claudina that the baby still had malaria. That same day, the little girl died.

This was the beginning of some days that were “very, very horrible for my life.” For the next two years, Claudina experienced deep depression. Though she would smile at people, inside was great sadness. Encouraged by relatives and World Vision staff, she went to a hospital for a medical checkup and learned that she was depressed.

She says of her recovery, “Little by little I came to appreciate the inner smile, all the colours of life, but there is always a pain that never goes away.”

In March 2010, Claudina became pregnant, and she is now the mother of a handsome little boy whose name is Precious. She says, “I chose this name because I lost my first baby to malaria.”

When her son was just four months old, he contracted malaria. She took Precious to the hospital and admits that she was panicked. The baby received treatment and recovered.

Despite spraying Baygon each night and using mosquito nets, their home has many mosquitoes. She says, “For me, every day that dawns is an uncertainty for the health of my son.” But that doesn’t stop her from fighting the disease. She purchases medicine and mosquito nets to give to other families.

Claudina states, “I am able to help other persons who are suffering like me.” “I am motivated to help the victims of malaria because I want to help contribute to the fight that World Vision is doing to diminish [it]. The deaths caused by this sickness increase every day. I am certain that with the force of World Vision, it will be possible to end malaria before it is too late.”