Nuch Baker

Karrus Hayes, the founder of the school (see uniteforsight.org/humanitarian_profile.php) took me to meet a young boy who is HIV+. On the way we stopped at his home so I could meet his own three month old daughter, one of three girls. Karrus lives as most on the camp, one room in a house divided for others to share, his wife changing their daughter’s nappy on the foam ‘mattress’ on the floor. There’s just enough room in there for us to stand as I hold and coo at the baby. The conditions he lives in are a testimony to the fact that he sacrifices everything to help others.
We continue on to meet Nuch Baker, a six year old who’s mother had died due to AIDS in 2005. He’s being cared for by his mother’s friend. I don’t notice him at first, he’s behind a table selling bits and bobs with his carer beside him. He was sat quietly with knees together balancing a bowl of rice and potato greens in his lap. He was confused by my presence but politely waved a hello. He looked small, the build of a four year old, so frail and moving slowly, his skin like tracing paper. His hair was brittle and a strange colour, the tone of an elderly man before going grey. Karrus explained that he needs sponsorship for anti-retro virus medication and the fare to get it to the camp clinic. In all $9 per month, I figure that’s about £7? I’m already donating to the school and responding to some other stories that have fallen to me, so if anyone is interested in helping Nuch, let me know.