DEBORAH IMANI
Birthday: October 30
On October 30th, 2017, a baby girl abandoned by her mother just moments after delivery...
Birthday: October 30
On October 30th, 2017, a baby girl abandoned by her mother just moments after delivery, came to live at Treasures of Africa.
She was born at about 4am in a village about ½ hour outside of the town of Moshi, Tanzania. People in the village were drawn by the screams of the mother, who was in labor at the time. When the villagers arrived in the area from which they had heard the cries of distress, the mother was gone. There on the ground was a little baby girl, lying in her mother’s afterbirth.
The people who found her contacted the police and she was then taken to Mawenzie Hospital in Moshi. It was the closest option, as there are no hospitals in the village. The Welfare Department was then contacted and told about the baby girl, so a place of refuge could be found for her.
Treasures of Africa Director, Warren Oberst, got the call from the Welfare officer at about 8am, asking if we had room to take in another baby. Initially, Warren said we would love to take her in, but we did not have room, nor did he know how we could make it work. We already had 5 babies in our baby room and could not fit another crib.
After hanging up, his mind raced for a solution, because he felt in his heart that we should accept this child. He quickly called the Welfare officer back and told him that he had figured out a way to squeeze her in and we would accept the infant. A few minutes later, Warren was off to the hospital with our staff Nurse, Elizabeth, to pick up our newest little treasure.
As an abandoned baby with no name, we had the privilege of naming this precious treasure. Our chaplain felt she would be a mighty warrior like Deborah in the Bible and we also felt that she would become a woman of great faith. The Swahili word for faith is “Imani.” So we named her Deborah Imani. She is now thriving and growing in the loving care of Treasures of Africa Children's Home.
