Mozambican Baby Born in Tree to Receive Government Care

The government will take care of Rositha Pedro, the baby who drew world sympathy when she was born in a tree where her mother took refuge from the country’s devastating floods, a newspaper reported Friday.

President Joaquim Chissano announced that the state will take the responsibility to ensure that Rositha is educated and supported, the country’s main newspaper Noticias reported.

Chissano said the baby and her mother, Sophia, had become the symbol of suffering for all women and children in Mozambique.

Sophia gave birth to her daughter March 1 in a tree above swirling water just an hour before a helicopter took them to safety. She had been in the tree for four days without food during the flooding, which covered large swaths of the southeast African nation and drove many thousands from their homes.

Since then, she has been living with her husband, the baby and their two other children in a squalid house shared with dozens of others. The house is in a tent camp housing about 5,000 flood victims in Chibuto, 125 miles northeast of the capital, Maputo.

The rescue, captured on television, sparked international attention. A businessman phoned a local radio station offering to pay for Rositha’s upkeep, and several other offers of support followed.