Meet Juma

Juma* was just 12 years old when he arrived at the Child Help Desk in the bus terminal with a soaring temperature and uncontrollable vomiting.

He was so sick and obviously needed immediate help. He was lucky that other children living and working around the central Mwanza area knew where to take him straight away.

Without their quick thinking, and without our team being at the desk to help, the outcome for Juma could have been very different.

Juma was assigned a case worker who took him straight to hospital where he stayed for three days. They visited him every day and found out more about him. He had travelled 345km to stay with his aunt during the school holidays, but she had threatened him with violence, so he had run away – becoming sick at the same time.

When he was discharged from hospital we found Juma a placement with a short term foster family until we could trace his family. Once we had done this, we were able to visit and found the family desperate to have their son back home where they could look after him.

Juma is now safe and happy with his family and is working hard at school.

*Name and identity has been changed.