Care and Support For Dominique

Pierre Faye - Posted on June 1, 2009

What would Dominique’s life be like without the care and support of World Vision? This is the story of a child who, in January, got an accident that left him with dull pain and sorrow.

One day, when Dominique was playing with his friends he fell off of a wall where he was sitting. He thought that this accident was not serious. But, four days later he had a dull pain. His father also did not make any connection between the pain and the accident.

Instead, his father, Pierre, was worried about the situation of Dominique and he took him to the traditional healer.

“We went to see four traditional healers but the situation worsened from day to day. So, as I did not see any improvement I warned Gilbert, the supervisor working in the sponsorship,” says his father.

Gilbert suggested that they take him to see Philomene, the nurse. Without hesitating, they brought Dominique to the nurse. When they arrived at the health post, the nurse suggested that the boy be transferred to Fatick (a nearby town with more advanced medical facilities).

“We kept praying and asking God to do something. The case of Dominique was so serious that the doctor in Fatick wrote a transferring paper [for him to see a doctor in] Dakar, the capital,” remembers Pierre.

“Then, we travelled from the village to Dakar, about a three-hour drive. They did x-rays and blood analysis. It was clear from the x-rays that the problem was in the spinal column and the neck,” he says.

World Vision provided a tremendous support to this family by paying for all the medical fees: $123 for the X-ray, $212 for the medicines and $73 for the blood analysis.

Today, Dominique is feeling better. “I miss school and soccer, I pray to be able to go back to school [soon],” Dominique says, as he continues to recover.

Since he started taking the medicine and after the thorough diagnosis done in Dakar, Dominique is feeling better. But, he has to go back to Dakar to do a scanner for $234.

“I pray for Gilbert, for the tremendous work he is doing. If he was not there, do you imagine what will be the situation of Dominique?” says Pierre.

Gilbert’s presence in the community is essential. Dominique and all the children can count on Gilbert who does regular visits to see how the children are doing. He is always there when the children need support and care.

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