News / National
Buhera mother breastfeeds another woman’s baby
03 Mar 2012 at 20:08hrs | Views
THE late Biggie Tembo and his Bundu Boys penned a gem of a song, Kuwanda kwakanaka, in which they were bemoaning the failure of the father to take care of his big family.
The same now applies to a Buhera polygamous member of the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church, who has sired 23 children with five wives.
The major challenge facing the family is taking care of one of the babies left behind by its mother who died recently.
The situation was further compounded by the recent stroke which the sole breadwinner of the family, Corias Ticharima suffered that left him paralysed and unable to fend for the family.
With all the financial woes facing the family as well as its size, the Ticharimas cannot afford to buy supplements to feed the baby and have engaged the services of the other breastfeeding wife, Elizabeth Magura (34) to feed the baby as well as her own baby.
This bizarre set-up has been going on for the past six months, but since the family is struggling to make ends meet, the children are now heavily malnourished.
They are showing signs of stunted growth.Magura said the family sometimes goes for days without having proper meals.
"Our husband (Ticharima) is paralyzed after he suffered a stroke.
"He cannot walk or do anything and everyday is a nightmare.
"He has 23 children and we are struggling to make ends meet.
"His other wife passed away just after giving birth to one of the babies that I am now breastfeeding.
"I need food to breastfeed these children, yet I rarely have a good meal. My husband never wanted me to go to the clinic because of our apostolic beliefs and I used to sneak outfor medical attention, as you can see theses children are in a bad state. I am kindly asking for any kind of assistance," she said.
The same now applies to a Buhera polygamous member of the Johanne Marange Apostolic Church, who has sired 23 children with five wives.
The major challenge facing the family is taking care of one of the babies left behind by its mother who died recently.
The situation was further compounded by the recent stroke which the sole breadwinner of the family, Corias Ticharima suffered that left him paralysed and unable to fend for the family.
With all the financial woes facing the family as well as its size, the Ticharimas cannot afford to buy supplements to feed the baby and have engaged the services of the other breastfeeding wife, Elizabeth Magura (34) to feed the baby as well as her own baby.
This bizarre set-up has been going on for the past six months, but since the family is struggling to make ends meet, the children are now heavily malnourished.
They are showing signs of stunted growth.Magura said the family sometimes goes for days without having proper meals.
"Our husband (Ticharima) is paralyzed after he suffered a stroke.
"He cannot walk or do anything and everyday is a nightmare.
"He has 23 children and we are struggling to make ends meet.
"His other wife passed away just after giving birth to one of the babies that I am now breastfeeding.
"I need food to breastfeed these children, yet I rarely have a good meal. My husband never wanted me to go to the clinic because of our apostolic beliefs and I used to sneak outfor medical attention, as you can see theses children are in a bad state. I am kindly asking for any kind of assistance," she said.
Source - zimpapers
