06/14/2026
Our malnutrition program continues to examine children in Galette Chambon who are in danger of complications due to malnutrition. Our staff daily sees children of all ages. Thanks to generous donors to our program, we were able to purchase baby scales as well as scales for older children. The scale for older children is a harness that they lift up to a scale on the ceiling which gets a better, more accurate weight measurement. Sometimes the children find it quite comical. The babies more often find their weight measurement process to be quite frightening.
The nurses are trained to identify all of the signs of developing malnutrition in order to get a diagnosis and put the child in the program. One of the tell-tale signs is lighter hair. Their hair is supposed to be a dark, healthy black color if they are in good health, however, if they identify it to be more coarse, brittle, and a reddish-brown color, they are in serious danger. Another important sign that many family members misunderstand is swelling. The malnutrition nurse knows how much a child should weigh at a certain age. She checks weight, BMI, evidence of swelling, dexterity, and other identifiers. Many people think that if a child is plump, he is healthy, but that isn't always the case. If the plumpness is caused by swelling and the skin on the feet is tight and shiny, this is evidence of organs beginning to shut down due to severe malnutrition.
Thanks to our donors, we are able to offer a comprehensive program that gently walks alongside the child and the caregiver to return the child to good health as opposed to a senseless death due to lack of services such as these. We are so thankful for those who continue to support services such as these and we are also thankful for the professionals we have in our clinic who know how to minister to children like these who are in need. Please pray about how you can partner with But God Ministries to minister to these children and hundreds more in the future!