Rundu
A 33-year-old unemployed woman, Eveline Shihako Mutero, who delivered triplets in the Rundu hospital maternity ward twelve days ago is seeking any kind of assistance to support her infants. She now has seven children to care for on her own. The triplets are two girls and one boy. Mutero is from the village of Korokoko in Ndiyona Constituency, Kavango East Region. According to Mutero, the father of the triplets does not live with her and only visits her once in a while at her village. She only knows him by the name ‘Tjiawonga’, but says she is aware that he is also unemployed. She adds that with the triplets, life will be difficult “as it is even winter now” and she has no blankets or clothing to keep the babies warm.
“I am really in need of support even in the form of blankets, clothes and money – anything that I can use for my triplets’ needs – as I am unable to offer them anything as a single mother. I have four other kids already – two girls and two boys – the oldest of whom is in Grade 7. The other one is in Grade 6, the third-born is in Grade 3 and the fourth-born is in Grade 1. I live with my elder siblings who are also unemployed,” she told New Era.
The hospital is open to receive any donations for her through the office of the social workers and they have also opened an account at Nampost under her name, Eveline Shihako Mutero, account number 34332460-0. People who wish to assist her anonymously can deposit money in her account or can visit her.
“The triplets were delivered through a Caesarean section. Previously it was diagnosed as a twin pregnancy but then the third one appeared. They were mature babies – the first one was 2.4 kg, the second one weighed 1.7kg and the third one weighed 1.2kg,” explained paediatrician Dr Chantal Riziki Nyembo, who is also the senior medical officer at the hospital.
“We are keeping them in incubators because they suffered a respiratory problem but they are about to be discharged as they are stable and a social worker will escort them home,” stated Nyembo. This is not the first case of triplets in this ward. On April 5 this year Elizabeth Muronga, 26, also gave birth to triplets at the maternity ward of the Rundu hospital and last August the 24-year-old Agnes Kasanga was blessed with quadruplet boys in the same ward.