The difference in appearance is striking, but Safari’s story is still being written. We gave him his first chance in early 2022, when he ended up in the nutrition centre on the brink of life and death. We fed him together in the moments when regular fighting by the Congolese army and rebellion was going on behind the walls of our hospital.

In July of the same year, you rescued him a second time – the probe through which he was being fed had clogged. The fighting made it impossible to get medical supplies. Long hours passed since Safari had last eaten and his weight immediately began to drop. Your support enabled us to get new probes to the hospital straight from Poland in no time.

Today Safari needs a helping hand for the third time – he requires special nutrition all the time. Due to huge problems with his digestive system, he cannot cope with digesting or swallowing most meals at all. We cannot give him bouillie – a nutritious gruel that is a staple of therapy for children in various stages of malnutrition. He also cannot cope with digesting vegetables and fruit.

Safari is still fed every 2.5-3 hours and the basis of his menu is pureed soups – usually with blanched egg. Sister Agnes makes sure that the child’s diet is balanced despite the probe. Maintaining his weight is extremely difficult, not least because the boy catches one infection after another. At times it feels like we are taking two steps forward and one step backwards, but there is progress all the time.

Every 100g of the boy’s weight is worth its weight in gold, as it brings him closer to the magic number of 15kg, when surgery will be possible. In the meantime, he is awaiting to be eligible for a gastroscopy, which should reveal the cause of the oesophageal stricture and other problems.

If PLN 15 is not too much for you, we appeal – donate to a day of nutrition for this brave boy. We are so close to the weight for a full recovery. Food is a basic need on which everything depends.