Miracle Under the Banana Tree
Gogo, a caregiver at Kuda Vana’s Hope House Nursery, sat; her attention riveted on every word pronounced over the radio. “…baby…banana trees…” Naturally, the account that was being broadcasted made her motherly heart drop. The story, told by the rescuer herself, went something like this: “I was working in the fields with my children when a faint cry of some sorts reached my ears…” The woman paused. Did she actually hear a cry, or was her mind playing tricks on her? Unable to shake off the feeling that something was wrong, she called out to her children. “Hey! I think I hear something coming from the direction of the banana trees. Go and see if you can find anything!”. The children scampered off and began searching, but they came back empty-handed. “We didn’t find anything, Mama.”
The children, who themselves didn’t hear the cry, began to question whether their mother had heard anything at all. Again, she heard the faint cry being carried over by the breeze. “Yes, go again. Go look again!”, she replied quickly. Once more, they ran off in the direction of the banana trees. All of a sudden she heard a shout. “Mama, come fast!”. If at first she questioned whether something was wrong or not, the screams now confirmed it. Her tools hit the ground with a thud as she began to run. Her heartbeat quickened. At first, she didn’t even see what the children were pointing at, but when she locked eyes with what had made the little cry for help, it almost sucked the breath out of her.
There, under a banana tree lay a two-pound baby boy; his entire body covered with biting ants. Her mind screamed that she needed to do something, and quick. This baby was about to die. She managed to get the ants off of the tortured body and picked the baby up. He fit perfectly in her hand. It’s a miracle that she had even been able to hear his tiny cry! God had opened her ears.
With the baby pressed tightly against her chest, she raced into the direction of some older women she had spotted nearby. “Help me!”, she pleaded. “I found this baby boy abandoned in the banana trees, and I doubt he has much longer to live! Please help me take him to the hospital!”. At the sight of the baby, the older women stepped back. “Oh no, we can’t help you. Don’t get involved with that, just leave it where you found it.” For a split second, the mother looked at them aghast, but she didn’t have much time to argue with their cruelties and began running in the direction of the hospital, herself. The hot sun beat down on her back as her feet rhythmically hit the soil. Time was quickly running out, and she was starting to feel fatigued.
Right then, she heard the sound of a truck. She assumed that it would pass her by just like everyone else; however, she was met with surprise when it pulled off in front of her and a man jumped out. “Is something wrong?! Can I do anything to help?”. She explained the situation to him, and he immediately put her and the baby into his vehicle. He had decided to drop everything that was originally planned for that day and drove this woman with the two-pound baby to the hospital. Upon their arrival, he could’ve just dropped the two off and continued with his day, but no. He accompanied them both into the building and made sure that the baby would immediately get seen and cared for. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if this man was an angel. If it weren’t for him (or the woman for that matter), the baby would probably not have made it.
The radio commentator moved on to another topic, but his words were drowned out by Gogo’s thoughts. She clasped her hands together and pleaded with the Lord in prayer. “Father, this baby needs you and it needs loving care. Please send it to Kuda Vana, oh Lord, it needs to be at Kuda Vana.”
Gogo gives baby Jasi one of his first bottles, and lots of snuggles.
Fast forward three months. By now the radio story had faded from Gogo’s mind as she was swept up in her work at the nursery. It was just a regular day when one of Kuda Vana’s staff got the call that there were three children at the hospital who needed somewhere to live. A three-year-old girl, a five-month-old baby boy, and a premature three-month-old who had barely ever been held. The nurses weren’t allowed to hold him except for feedings, and so they pleaded that we would take him. Of course we wanted to take them in; I mean, where else would they go?
There was only one problem. Kuda Vana was at its limit, and we didn’t have enough funds to take care of three more children, much less babies. I remember thinking, how in the world can we refuse three little ones who have nowhere else to go? And so, we decided to take a step out in faith and pick the children up even though we truly didn’t have the money to provide for them. We informed Gogo at the nursery that two new babies were arriving soon, and that we needed to pray that God would provide the funds. Gogo, burdened by this information, once again prayed a simple prayer that He would work things out and that people would be impressed to donate the money. Sure enough, three days later we received the funding, and social services made an exception for us to take additional children. It was a huge miracle.
A couple of days after their arrival, Gogo sat cradling the preemie baby in her arms. We had recently found out that the doctors or nurses had given the baby the surname of “Banana”. “Why would they give it that name?”, we asked Uncle Knowledge who had been the one picking the babies up. “I was told that they gave it that name because it was found abandoned under some banana trees.” We continued talking about how we wanted to change it to something more traditional, but Gogo was no longer paying attention. Her face abruptly changed as she looked down at the child she was holding, and her heart began to swell with warmth.
There was a sudden click in her mind as she made the connection between the radio story and this baby. The very baby she had prayed for three months ago was the exact same one that now lay in her arms. God had answered her prayers and brought him to Kuda Vana!
What a miracle that Gogo and this sweet boy were brought together. He will now receive all of the love and care every baby deserves.
This story honestly gives me chills. God seriously took care of this baby and led it to us. He never left him during those three months of not having anyone to love him. God is so good, and I know that He has mighty plans for this child. He’s literally a miracle baby. Our hope is that thanks to the new FAMily (Foster Adopt Mentor) program being launched this year, this baby boy and many others will find forever families to go home to. In the meantime, they will receive all of the love and care they deserve at Kuda Vana. May this story be a reminder that God also has a plan for every single one of us, and He is a God who answers prayers.
- Written by Natalie Rouse, Volunteer at Kuda Vana
Kuda Vana honors and respects the privacy of the children in our care. Their real names are never used. We hope that in sharing this tragic story, we can provide insight into the desperation many in Zimbabwe are feeling during these difficult times. We also hope it demonstrates the real impact your gifts have - without them, we would never have been able to take this baby boy, or so many others, into our care.