Faith K., 17

Faith is a 17-year-old high school student from a rural area where access to essential services is limited. Her family fetches water and purchases food from far away, and they use a pit latrine at home. The family’s sole income comes from her mother, a market hawker who earns approximately KSh 2,300 per month. Despite these hardships, Faith remains a committed Form 4 student with aspirations of becoming a teacher after completing secondary school. Faith, who has sickle cell disease, was recently diagnosed with malaria. She presented at the health facility with symptoms such as severe diarrhoea, chills, vomiting, and general body weakness. According to her mother, Faith has also lost her appetite, becomes easily fatigued, and frequently suffers joint pain. Due to her health condition and the long 3-kilometer walk to school, she has been unable to attend classes for the past three weeks.

Faith, a child living with sickle cell disease, was recently diagnosed with malaria. She arrived at the health facility exhibiting severe symptoms, including profuse diarrhea, chills, vomiting, and overall body weakness. Her mother also reported that Faith had lost her appetite, became easily fatigued, and frequently experienced joint pain. Following evaluation, Faith was admitted to the hospital for further management of severe malaria, taking into account her underlying sickle cell condition. She also had to be rehydrated with IV fluids since dehydration can send her into a sickle cell crisis, and yet she was having bouts of diarrhoea and also vomiting, both of which can cause dehydration. With timely and appropriate medical care, her health gradually improved. She regained her strength, became active, and was once again able to walk and play energetically. After her recovery, a Helpster Charity volunteer conducted a follow-up call to the family. Faith’s grandmother expressed heartfelt gratitude for the compassionate care provided, noting the critical support from Helpster Charity that made her granddaughter’s recovery possible. She was overjoyed to see Faith healthy again and deeply appreciated the organization’s role in alleviating the family’s challenges during this difficult period.

If Faiths condition was left untreated, could have lead to severe complications and even death, particularly due to the increased risk of severe anemia and sickle cell crises. While SCD provides some protection against severe malaria in its classic form, the disease can still trigger severe anemia and other life-threatening complications in this population.