RICHIE

RICHIE

"My gosh, he's just skin and bones," was the first thought that came to mind as this young boy got off the neighbor's bicycle. He had the posture of an old man with a "barrel chest." His name is Richie Anchay, he's 13 years old and only weighs 22 kg (48.5 lbs). That day, their neighbor went to get him out of school early so we can meet and weigh him. He was first mentioned to us by the midwife who works around the area. She knew about our work with kids with TB or tuberculosis in the other villages and asked us to meet Richie. He was diagnosed of TB of the lungs a year ago and was prescribed TB medications for 6 months. His mother told us that he was only able to take the medicines for 1 month because that is all they can afford to buy. He continues to lose weight, and coughs almost all the time....

But oh, he had such a sweet smile....after we weighed him, he busied himself in the kitchen making coffee for us....and he served us with that big sweet smile....

Tuberculosis is the fifth leading cause of death and illness in the Philippines....Approximately 1,500,000 children ages 0-9 years are infected and 40,000 of them develop the disease each year. (From the National Prevalence Survey by Tupasi et al, 1997)

We will take Richie this week for further check-up and another chest x-ray and go from there...He is such a precious kid and we want to see him get well and continue smiling....Please pray for Richie as you think of him.

Curing TB in children is made possible by people like you, who can sponsor the 6-9 month treatment for $100 dollars. just email us at chris.mapes@gmail.com and we'll let you know how.

Thank you and blessings,

Chris and Cathee Mapes:)

To know more about our work in Kalinga, please visit our website at www.mapesmission.com