Of Little Angels and Lifted Spirits!

When they said the little girl didn’t make it, my sister’s shoulders dropped. A lump came to her throat. Though she half expected it, she was still unprepared for the emotions that went through her at that moment. Dear God, why? She was such a sweet little girl. Sick, but sweet, still! “O, no!” was all she could muster. But with a wry smile, the doctor drew her aside and said something that lifted her spirit.
My sister Lavinia is one of the strongest women I know. Strong as in determined. A decade or so older than me, she’s always been there for me since childhood, through all my societal transitions. She’s got verve, and is the one who prods me on to complete those things I start and don’t finish, no matter how long it takes! She’s the one who taught me that crying could be a sign of strength, because even as she cries, when life’s adversities pluck from us, she careers on and finishes whatever it is she has started!
Lavinia has always loved children, so I was not surprised when she told me about her pet project years ago, the Little Angels Trust, an Independent Charitable Organisation which would live out her cause; Like I said, Lavinia’s tears aren’t far off. Seeing the reaction of the kids, and their parents, moves her so easily to want to do more for them. Stories of sick children whose parents can’t afford their hospital bills cut through her. So, with the next consignment, having investigated how she could lend support at the Children’s ward at Korle Bu, off she went to host a Christmas party there, and subsequently, paid several more visits and made ‘little’ contributions in cash and kind to the ward.
Having attended Akosombo International School meant there were several well off school mates she could turn to for support. But having been living abroad for so many years’ means she’s cut off with many of them, so, it’s been at her Church in London that she’s been holding mini fund raising events, proceeds of which finance the activities of the Charity.
Last December, she held one such event in the garden at ‘The Haven’, a petit alfresco eatery within the compound of Opik at Nyaniba in Osu. There, amid rapturous melodious chorus’ from the Kaneshie Presby Choir, both Prof Welbeck, head Pediatrician at the Children’s ward, and Oncologist Dr Renner of Korle Bu, talked to the gathered about some of the problems facing the ward, and how very little but frequent help can make a difference! And they wouldn’t stop talking about how impressed they were with the Little Angels Trust for the ‘little’ we were doing.
Lavinia pays frequent visits to the ward, just to touch base with the kids, to give them toys and sweets. Any opportunity she gets, she seeks money and stuff from friends and people she meets, to donate to the ward which the Trust has adopted. So it was on one such visit that she met the ‘little girl’. She had tubes in her nose. At the time, the doctor told her she didn’t have much time to live. But, Lavinia wished it away, and prayed for the little girl. She gave her a toy and held her hand and talked to her in her high pitch tone that she uses when she confronts her fears! Fear, it is the one thing she has learned to overcome! Nothing frightens her anymore, nothing is impossible, once she can pray about it!
The little girl died two days after, longer than had been expected. Lavinia got the news on her next visit. When the doctor drew her away, she said the little girl had begun responding a bit more before life left her. The doctor said the little girl’s eyes beamed and she held on to her toy. That warmed sister Lavinia’s heart considerably, for the vision of her Little Angels Trust is to see all sick and terminally ill children live happy and dignifying lives. Hers is to strive to minimize their pain by aiming to provide an avenue for them to refocus their attention on the positive aspects of the life they have at the moment.
So as I sit here savouring a plate of low fat beef stroganoff, one of the new healthy dishes on the menu at the Ahengua Restaurant at Golden Tulip, I think of the little girl’s ‘moment’. The doctor said she almost even saw her smile. What a ‘moment’ Lavinia’s gift - an old toy -, and her touch, gave this special little girl!
And that’s why, today, as you read this, I’m probably already at the Children’s ward at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital with Lavinia, her hubby Aaron, and Selina and Millie, and the rest of the gang, hanging some beautiful brocade fabrics generously donated by Nana Yaa of All Things Nice Décor that we’ve made into curtains on their windows!