The past two months have been nothing short of a nightmare for families in the Northwest District.
A deadly outbreak of severe diarrhea and nausea has swept through Maun and surrounding villages, leaving sorrow and devastation in its wake.
About 17 children under the age of five have tragically lost their lives since July 2024- tiny souls taken far too soon by the cruel hand of rotavirus.
The small settlement of Sankoyo, just 80 kilometers from Maun and Matlapana ward in Maun have been the hardest hit.
Among the heartbroken is Tsame Gabanakemo, a 20-year-old first-time mother whose world shattered on August 13th when her beloved 1-year-old daughter, Destiny, died in her arms.
She tearfully recounts the horror of that fateful afternoon.
“My baby died while I was carrying her on my back. I thought she had fallen asleep and discovered that she passed when I tried to lay her on the bed!”
It is a scene no mother should ever endure.
Just threedays earlier, Destiny had fallen ill with diarrhea and Tsame rushed her to the local clinic.
Nurses gave her medication and oral rehydration solution, but despite her best efforts and repeated visits to the clinic, Destiny’s condition only worsened.
Without any ambulance available, Tsame had no choice but to wait. Little did she know, her beloved daughter would not survive the day.
“That afternoon, I was carrying her on my back while I was cooking. I felt her head tilt to the other side, so I gently supported it because I thought she had fallen asleep. When I placed her on the bed, I noticed that something was not right, she was not breathing and I immediately called for help,” Tsame recalls, tears welling up her eyes.
When help finally arrived, it was too late. Destiny was rushed to the hospital in a community vehicle, but she was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Tsame is not alone in her grief.
The very same day, just hours earlier, 28-year-old Janet Samasasa, another mother in Sankoyo, lost her 10-month-old-old son, Junior.
He had been suffering from the same ailment as Destiny and Janet had rushed him to the clinic.
He was transported by ambulance to Letsholathebe Memorial Hospital, but the tiny baby never made it.
“The nurse was holding him in the ambulance. When we got to the hospital they told me he was gone,”Janet says, struggling to contain her sorrow.
“It is a difficult thing to deal with.”
The pain in the community is palpable.
Grieving parents and relatives are also fearful wondering if they will be next.
Some community members explained that they are not just losing children- many adults have also been struck down by diarrhea, some suffering for weeks on end.
Community leaders are desperately trying to figure out what went wrong. Councillor Kobamelo Baikgodise from Maun believes poor hygiene may be partly to blame.
“Many working mothers leave young children under the care of house helps or relatives who may not be well versed with cleaning feeding bottles and general hygiene. I encourage people to practice safe hygiene, the same way we did at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, washing utensils and hands all the time before handling food and babies.”
The numbers are shocking.
The Ngami District Management Team (DHMT) first noticed a spike in cases in July this year, with fivr deaths recorded that month and 12 in August.
According to their report, 622 have since been recorded of which 485 had diarrhea without dehydration, 121 had diarrhea with dehydration and 16 had blood in their stools.
Currently the Council is facilitating the DHMT with water sampling in areas having more cases, Council Chairman, Itumeleng Kelebetseng, informed the council on Monday this week.
But for the families mourning their children, the pain is unbearable.
