He was only 5 years old, coming from a very poor family and indigenous. He was looking forward to going to school in 2018. “Don’t forget to bring me a bag plus a nice outfit and sneakers. I will also go to school next year,” Azaria told us during an activity in his village.
A few days later, he fell ill and developed very high fevers requiring an immediate blood transfusion. Unfortunately, the Health Center in his community cannot give blood transfusions and does not have a pharmacy.
Azaria was evacuated to Sibiti, nearly 250 km from his village and on a road that the Congolese state only really worked on in 1961. About 38 km later, the mother holding the child in her arms found that the child was no longer breathing. Azaria had surrendered her soul to God.
Yes, Azaria died while going for a blood transfusion 250 km from his village.
Very courageous and only five years old, Azaria had a dream: to go to school in 2018, to get a degree and to work to build beautiful houses for his parents.
He was not old enough to go to school, but he participated in all our activities. He understood our messages and made the decision to go to school.
Many indigenous children are dying in the Republic of Congo because of lack of access to appropriate health services. Then imagine the shock in the community and in the family of this child.
A star that has gone out. If we had reliable partners around the world, we could prevent more Azarias from dying.
Peace to her soul.
