A Loving SOS Mother and Good Health Care Help a Little Girl in Morocco
Chama* is a sociable and energetic five-year-old little girl. Her energy fills the house every morning as she eats her cornbread with milk, then puts her little box of nuts and peanuts in her school bag, hugs her SOS mother, and heads to the kindergarten. Two years ago, this bundle of energy was a little girl in pain.
When Chama joined her SOS family in Morocco in 2016, she could barely eat and would often cry. The day after Chama joined the Village, her very worried SOS mother took her to a doctor.
Unfortunately, the treatment the doctor prescribed was not working; her physical condition was still very weak after a few days and her body was rejecting anything she ate. “We thought that she was going to die, we had no idea what was wrong. We then took her to a gastroenterologist who diagnosed her with a gluten intolerance,” said Mahjouba, her SOS mother.
It was the first time that Mahjouba heard of this disease. To better care for Chama, Mahjouba started doing research about gluten intolerance and learning about food that Chama could eat, and those she should avoid. At first, this was not easy. The SOS team had to go to the next biggest city, an hour away, to get supplies so Chama could eat.
With a lot of encouragement from her mother and siblings, Chama slowly warmed to trying her new diet and soon realized it made her feel better. Her SOS mother started baking bread with cornmeal instead of wheat flour, and gave Chama dried fruit as a snack, instead of biscuits.
Her brothers and sister are also aware of her intolerance and they know the type of food that hurts their little sister. They also help Mahjouba keep an eye on what Chama eats.
“Chama is the most playful child in the house. When she was sick, she hated it when anyone tried to approach her. Now she is the one running around hugging others,” said Mahjouba.
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