Meet Ruth Begbessou

She is 12 years old and in 4th grade. The reasons for her delay in schooling are related to her difficult history. After her father abandoned their family and her mother passed away, Ruth and her sisters were sent to live with relatives in neighboring Ghana in 2007. Ruth’s family lived in a remote, isolated village in Ghana, without access to a health center. As a result Ruth stopped taking her lifesaving ART. In an effort to bring Ruth closer to essential health care services, our partner Hope Through Health worked with the family to find a safe and supportive living situation for Ruth in Kara, Togo. Ruth was eventually taken in by a woman named Rose, also a patient and Community Health Worker of Hope Through Health. Under Rose’s care she rejoined school and began taking her ART again. In January of 2008, Ruth’s CD4 count was just 12. A normal CD4 count for a child of her age at the time would have been greater than 800. Ruth had struggled with poor compliance to ART. She disliked taking the medication because of its uncomfortable side effects, including nauseous and dizziness. In an effort to minimize these side effects, Ruth receives a nutrition kit from Hope Through Health. Today, Ruth’s CD4 count is 801 and she rarely comes into the clinic for treatment of opportunistic infections. The combination of nutrition support and good adherence to ART ensures the health of children like Ruth.