Natali and Hugo, two of The Colour of Hope’s project participants, have a little 3-year-old called Luís. A few weeks ago, Luís became extremely ill after accidentally drinking bleach at his nursery. Natali and Hugo rushed him into hospital and thankfully he recovered after a few days. However, he was very weak afterwards and had lost a lot of weight. On top of the effects of the bleach, the doctors found that he was anaemic and suffering from malnutrition. They said that he would need a whole cocktail of different medicines and vitamins to help him recover from the bleach, as well as a special diet to combat the anaemia and malnutrition.
Hugo and Natali have done everything to care for Luís since he was born, often going without food themselves in order to make sure he doesn’t go hungry. However, the only work open to them (busking and begging on buses, morning to night, day in day out) simply didn’t bring in what they needed.
Their situation has greatly improved now that Natali has begun her placement with Wall Luxury Fibre Clothing Company, and will continue to improve further once Hugo gets his grocery store up and running. However, 3 years without the protein, vitamins and minerals Luís needs have taken their toll, and he will require constant medical care over the next few months to monitor his progress.Even with Natali’s wages from Wall, the expenses that the medicines, diet and medical care will incur are far beyond their reach. So Hugo and Natali’s sponsors, Jess and Rose from Ottery St. Mary, have kindly dedicated part of their sponsorship funds to covering Luís’s expenses. This will ensure he receives all the support and medical attention he needs, hopefully meaning that his health will see some steady improvements over the next few months.
