Clouds Over Josué Are Lifted

For Cécile, a 26-year-old tailor, the birth of her second son, Josué, was a momentous occasion. The tragic memory of the death of her first-born child was slightly alleviated by the arrival of a second, joyful baby boy. Yet, after only six weeks, Josué’s health, too, deteriorated, and Cécile became fearful of losing another child.

A milky layer began to form over both of Josué’s eyes, affecting his vision. Cécile did not understand what was happening to her newborn son. Her husband and family were also baffled. Her in-laws decided that the only possible explanation was that Cécile was cursed. Because this was the second of Cécile’s children to experience health problems, her in-laws were convinced that she had brought evil into their house. So, they told Cécile to leave and return to her own parents.



Distraught and confused, Cécile left the house with Josué. “I became very anxious and felt completely helpless and depressed,” she said. “My in-laws accused me, but never did they question that, if this was a curse, could it possibly come from their own son – my husband?”

But Cécile did not return to the house of her parents. Instead, she remembered an advertisement she had seen on the television about an organization called Mercy Ships. Deep down, she believed that somebody onboard the “big ship” in Cotonou could help her. And she was right!

After a four-hour journey in a taxi to the busy streets of Cotonou, Cécile and Josué ventured onboard the Africa Mercy where Dr. Glenn Strauss, Senior Vice President of Health Care Initiatives and a renowned ophthalmic surgeon, assessed Josué’s tiny, clouded eyes. The conclusion was that Josué had bilateral congenital cataracts and would require surgery in order to save his sight. “The cataracts were not grossly obvious, but they were certainly there from birth,” said Dr. Strauss.

Josué is the youngest patient to receive cataract surgery in the history of Mercy Ships. At only three months old, there were certain risks in attempting the surgery. “Children under one year of age have an increased risk in eye surgery, particularly relating to the cornea and the inflammation of the eye,” Dr. Strauss explained. “It’s a microsurgical procedure, and an eye that is half the size of an adult eye increases the challenge of surgical manipulation.” He continued, “But it’s better to do this surgery sooner rather than later to decrease the chance of amblyopia (lazy eye).”

A few days later, Cécile sat with Josué in her lap as Dr. Strauss examined the results of the delicate procedure he had performed to remove the cataracts. The outcome was extremely positive. “Josué was in very good health, which is important because congenital cataracts are often associated with many other congenital complications – such as heart, lung, and neurological problems,” said Dr. Strauss. “His eyes were properly aligned, and there was no involuntary movement. It looked like he would gain good vision during recovery.”




Now that Josué’s cataracts have been removed, Cécile says the family is happy again, adding, “This situation has surprised them and made them realise that it was not definitely a curse.”

The clouds that covered Josué’s eyes have lifted. The work of Mercy Ships has given a young boy a bright future and has restored his mother’s hope. “My heart is refreshed and calm,” Cécile said with a smile. “I pray that this child will become a great man and care for me in my old age.”



“I’m very thankful for Mercy Ships. What the enemy said about my baby was stopped. God changed things. He used a specialist to help my baby. May God be glorified, and may this work continue and be a blessing to many people. I believe that this ship is the glory of God,” Cécile concluded.

Angels Amongst the Sons of Men

This has made its way around the ship for about 2 months now... wanted to send it to all of you, so that you could be included in being angels. Without you, I would not be here... thank you for your support, and for being "angels".

The following poem was written by Prince Eddie Daniels from Ghana, a patient aboard having skin grafts on his hands. I is a descriptive of how he see’s Mercy Ship’s work here.

Angels Amongst the Sons of Men

The day the Big White Whale landed on the black shores of Africa was a blessed day to the Sons of Men.
It came with Angels to walk amongst the Sons of Men.
Why do I call them Angels? Let me tell you of my time with them.

I came on board the White Whale with rooms filled with
the lame
the maimed
the formed
the deformed
the wrong
and the rough.
And deep into the darkest part of the night, I saw men and brethren,
maidens and ladies, though flesh as us, yet with hearts as Angels.

Sleeplessly and tirelessly they toiled through the night,
through the pains and aches of men;
they with hands to heal and mend,
bringing from above the Father's love to the Sons of Men.

Some they cut. Some they tie.
Some they seal, and yet others
they fix with tools untold.

Like messengers of the Most High they came.
Not thinking of their own, they risked their lives
and sailed the seas to lands beyond the endless world,
to shores of Men afflicted and in pain.
Their hearts and lives they came to share,
as Angels walking amongst the Sons of Men.
Some in this life are born to pass,
and some are born in life to live,
yet these Angels are born to preserve humanity.

Though some may see lives as waste,
yet with speed they move to save.
With words of love and touch of peace,
they endlessly toil to make right the wrong.

You were born as Men to your lands,
and yet as Angels you served the earth.
Gold is digged from earth beneath.
Treasures are hunted on high seas.
But love so pure and true
can only in hearts like yours be found.
Your labor in the Lord shall not be in vain.
For every life you touch and every soul you save,
For every bone you mend and every face you straight,
The Lord of Life and Light will light your path and guide your life.

For you are truly Angels amongst the Sons of Men.

Alba's Tears

Ankosua was outside carefully mixing herbs and water to create a concoction prescribed by a traditional doctor in her village. It was mid-afternoon, and her daughter, eight-year-old Alba, was sitting alone in their home. “She should be at school right now,” she thought. Struggling to hold back tears, she poured boiling water over the crushed herbs and sieved the mixture into a cup.

Two years earlier, an outgoing and vivacious Alba was attending school with her friends. Now, she spent her days hiding in a dark room, too insecure to look people in the eyes.

When the drink had cooled, Ankosua walked inside the home and handed Alba the cup. Taking the cup, Alba tilted her head back, creating a small gap between her cheek and the large tumor that filled her mouth. Slowly, she poured the liquid into the small gap and swallowed in intervals.

While she watched her daughter struggle, Ankosua thought back to the day she first spotted the small bulge on Alba’s gum line. Never could she have imagined the fear and discouragement it would cause her heart.

After Alba had drunk the entire cup, she began crying.

Ankosua couldn’t bear looking into the tear-stained eyes of her daughter. Slowly, she wrapped her arm around Alba, who then buried her head on Ankosua’s chest. As Alba’s tears collected on her shirt, Ankosua did her best to be strong.

But Ankosua was depressed. Alba had performed this routine hundreds of times, but the tumor hadn’t gone away. In fact, it was growing. At times, it felt like it was shooting out of her mouth, causing her great pain. Ankosua realized the traditional herbs were not working. There were no other options. All she could do was keep trying and pray the herbs would begin to work.

***********

“When the tumor first appeared, my husband and I took Alba to the hospital, but we didn’t have money to pay for it, so they wouldn’t treat her. We had to use traditional medicine,” said Ankosua. Alba was taken out of school so her mother could give her the traditional medicine daily.



When asked how the community treated Alba, Ankosua stared at the floor and remained silent. After a 10-second pause, she looked up, her eyes filled with tears, and she painfully replied, “Some people received Alba with good hands. They prayed for her and encouraged me. But others shunned her. They said, ‘Go away, we don’t want to see you.’”

Whenever it was time to eat or drink, Alba hid herself from other people. If she went out in public, she kept the tumor covered with a rag. It served as a disguise and caught the foul-smelling and constant drainage.



After two years of watching her daughter struggle, a woman in her village told Ankosua of a hospital in Benin that was performing free surgery. Finally – a glimmer of hope! They scrounged to get enough money for transportation and traveled to the hospital, which was hours away.

However, Ankosua’s new-found hope quickly morphed into deep disappointment.

“We were there for two days, and nobody attended to us. I asked a woman who worked there why we weren’t being helped. She said, ‘They don’t do surgery for free, you have to deposit money.’ I trembled when she told me that. I had come with nothing,” said Ankosua sadly.

After Ankosua explained that she had no money for treatment, the woman told her about Mercy Ships. “This woman had heard Mercy Ships was in town, helping people and healing people for free. She gave me directions to the Africa Mercy, and I immediately went,” Ankosua added.

****
Still attached to noisy monitors and IV fluids, Alba had been dozing in and out of sleep since returning to the Africa Mercy ward. Finally, a few hours after surgery, she opened her eyes and sat up. Seeing she was awake, Becca, her nurse, came to Alba’s bedside and handed her a small mirror.

Alba looked down, paused in a state of bewilderment, and began touching the empty space on her mouth. The tumor was gone. After 20 seconds of staring, a single tear rolled down her cheek. With great determination, she tried not to cry. But another and then another tear soon followed. Finally, she gave up trying to hold them back and cried freely. Alba’s tears were earned through years of heartache and rejection. They were mature and raw – heavy tears for an eight-year-old to cry.



Ankosua stood next to her bed the entire time, carefully observing her daughter. When Alba began crying, she turned away. Ankosua couldn’t bear looking into her tear-stained eyes. After two hopeless years of discouragement and depression, healing had finally come. The mixture of joy and pain in that moment expressed itself in tears.

When Alba regained her composure, Ankosua returned to the bedside. Carefully, she wrapped her arm around Alba, who then buried her head on Ankosua’s chest. As Alba’s tears collected on her shirt, Ankosua did her best to be strong. But her heart was too overwhelmed with joy. Tears of relief and joy flooded her eyes as well.



They sat and cried together, each tear serving as a testimony to the transforming power of God’s mercy.

To Be Someone Tomorrow

Janviera can recount the afternoon with precision – it was a Thursday, the 23rd of October, 2008. She recalls how her children came home from school a little late, how they sat by lamplight with their tutor, and how the kerosene ran out.

Carole, the only girl in a family of five children, was always by her mother’s side. She helped take care of the other four children and helped clean the house. When Janviera needed things from the market, Carole would go and buy them. She helped cook – even the very difficult local cuisine, fufu. She helped with everything.

So that evening, as usual, Carole helped by refilling the lamp. She began to pour the kerosene, which they later guessed had been mixed with gasoline. Because Carole could not see very well, she called to her mother, and Janviera took over. Suddenly, the lamp exploded, and everything went black.

“I woke up on the other side of the room,” Janviera says. “I looked down and saw my arm was burned. Then I looked across the room and saw Carole. She was unconscious, and her school dress was still burning.”

She grabbed a blanket, threw it across Carole’s body, and immediately rushed her daughter to the hospital. Pictures taken there show Janviera disheveled and tired, holding her arm out stiffly. And they show Carole – lying on her back, her face swollen and blackened, her body covered in bandages and talcum powder.



“As a mother, I had to put my own pain aside,” Janviera recalls, glancing at the mottled scars on her left arm and hand. “I could only think about Carole. I was always crying, constantly asking God to save my daughter.”

It was three weeks before Carole was able to eat any food. Her mouth and eyes had been burned shut. Each day she received dressing changes, removing dead skin and applying ointment to the wounds. She was in extreme pain. Sometimes Carole’s wounds would stick to the sheets of her bed, and they would have to soak her in water and separate her from the fabric – agonizing bit by bit.

“We spent so much money for the treatment,” Janviera said. After three months of treatment, Carole’s arm was frozen, unable to extend past a right angle, with her palm turned out like a question mark. Her right cheek and arm, as well as her side, stomach, and chest were covered with raised scars of shiny, inflexible skin.

At school, her burns became an opportunity for cruelty. “If Carole did something that one of the kids didn’t like, they would say, ‘You have a burned face. You have a burned body.’” At home, she could no longer help her mother around the house because of her contracted arm.

Janviera heard about Mercy Ships through a radio advertisement, and she brought Carole to Cotonou for an operation onboard the Africa Mercy. The surgical team released contracted scar tissue and placed skin grafts at her elbow and wrist.




Kim Shankland, an occupational therapist from South Africa, worked with Carole after the surgery to help improve the range of motion in her arm and wrist. Kim says that without surgery, Carole would have struggled her whole life with basic self-care – “just eating, braiding her hair, brushing her teeth, and dressing would have been a huge problem.”



Later in life, she would have faced obstacles in supporting herself. Common jobs, like selling yams and tomatoes at the market or pursuing a trade like sewing, would have been impossible. She would have been forever dependent on family or a husband.

“As a mother, knowing what sort of difficulties your child would have – not being able to do the things you do – must be quite frustrating,” Kim says. She believes this has spurred Janviera in making sure Carole uses her injured arm and performs the rehab exercises. Janviera’s encouragement and insistence has been a major part of Carole’s successful recovery.

“I hope that she can be my helper again,” Janviera says. “But what I want most is for her to be able to use her hand, to write, to be someone tomorrow.”

While In Benin, Togo Smiles

The Mercy Ships Dental Team recently travelled to Lokossa, Benin, in order to run a two-day dental clinic at a nearby refugee camp. The camp of Agame was formed in 2005 to accommodate Togolese refugees who fled neighboring Togo shortly after violence erupted during elections.

Agame became home to more than 12,000 refugees, most of whom had lost all their possessions in fleeing the escalating hostility. The population has since decreased to around 3,000, with many of the refugees either resettling in Benin or returning to Togo.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has had a prominent presence within Agame since 2005, helping with the provision of shelter, basic health, water, and sanitation, as well as facilitating the establishment of a refugee-led council to manage social issues.



Though the camp has become self-sufficient in the past four years and no longer requires aid, several organizations still assist where they can. Mercy Ships was requested by the UNHCR to visit Agame and address the need for dental care.

Jessica Campbell, Dental Team Coordinator, and her team of 22 happily agreed to travel the three-hour journey from the port of Cotonou to the camp of Agame. “We performed only extractions and saw every person that requested treatment, which was around 160 people,” she said. “Some required the extraction of frontal teeth. With the assistance of the UNHCR, they will be brought to the Africa Mercy within the coming weeks to receive dentures.”

Cooperation between Mr. Ebri Koku, Health Administrator for Agame, Mrs. Florence Fassassi, UNHCR Facilitator for Benin, and Mr. Nicaisse Satoguina, Camp Manager and Benin Government Representative, ensured that the Mercy Ships Dental Team was provided with accommodation, food, and a suitable area of operation, as well as organizing the names of refugees that required treatment.



“Everything at the camp was very organized. We had no problems,” said Campbell. “The whole team loved the experience. It was great to get back to the basics of dentistry without all the fancy equipment and to help people who are in serious need and have no other means of help,” she added.

Belinda, a refugee who fled Togo with her husband and four children, was one of many patients who had their lives improved by the free service provided by Mercy Ships. Suffering from a severe cavity in one of her molars, Belinda required a tooth extraction. “It was not too painful when they took it out, but I feel free now,” she explained. “I can laugh again. I feel free.”

Mr. Koku expressed his gratitude for the work done by the Mercy Ships Dental Team: “Since Mercy Ships has come, we have been made aware of the need for oral hygiene in our community. We are very happy about the treatment we have received. We want to thank Mercy Ships for all the work they have done here in Agame.”

This brief partnership between Mercy Ships and the UNHCR has provided 160 struggling refugees with relief from toothache and has educated hundreds more on the importance of oral hygiene. With the 2010 Field Service planned for Togo, Mercy Ships hopes to continue bringing hope and healing to the Togolese people and their country, and indeed all of West Africa.

He Holds His Head Higher

Three years ago, Veronique went to visit her older brother in Abomey, the ancient capital of Benin. While she was there, she noticed her nephew Odilon had a swollen area on his jaw. Veronique asked Odilon’s parents if there was a problem with his tooth.

The mother answered, “No, Odilon has no pain.” Veronique had no way of knowing that a small cyst, easily removed in a place with adequate medical care, would overtake both his mouth and his life. So, she returned to Cotonou and her family without giving it much more thought.

Veronique returned to Abomey two years later, and when she saw how much the tumor had grown, she was stunned. She asked Odilon’s mother, “Why haven’t you done something about your son’s problem?” His mother replied, “We have taken him many places, but no one can do it.”



Ten-year-old Odilon suffered intensely from the swelling mass on his jaw. The family visited doctors who said they couldn’t help and traditional healers who prescribed herbal drinks. Sometimes it was difficult for him to eat, and he often would spit up blood.

“He was a strong boy,” his grandmother says. “But the tumor made him weak and small.”

Physically he deteriorated, and he also became withdrawn and shy. He was quiet, unsmiling, and reluctant to answer questions. He was ridiculed by others for the softball-sized tumor that pushed at his cheek, absorbed his jaw and teeth, and kept growing as weeks and months passed.



“I was ashamed when I had the tumor,” Odilon says. “Children at school used to insult me. I did not know why I had this tumor, and I wondered where it came from.” The family suffered, too. People accused the father of doing nothing to help his son and of neglecting his child.

Back in Cotonou, his Aunt Veronique heard of a Mercy Ship on its way to Benin that could help Odilon. She called and told the family, and in February, Odilon and his grandmother traveled the five hours from their village to Cotonou. There he received an appointment for a free operation with Dr. Gary Parker, who has worked with Mercy Ships for 23 years removing tumors just like Odilon’s.



“Because of the tumor, he stayed in the house,” his grandmother says, “but he would cry that he wanted to go back to school. If he is healed, he can go to school, and then, by the grace of God, he will be someone in the future.”

Odilon’s feelings about being healed were more basic, immediate, and fitting for a ten-year old who has suffered physical pain and emotional isolation. He declared, “After the surgery, I will feel better, and people will not laugh at me again.”



In March, Odilon received his first operation to remove the tumor. Then a second surgery followed, in which Dr. Parker fashioned a new jaw for him using a titanium plate and pieces of Odilon’s rib. A small scar cuts across his chin, but the tumor is gone, and Odilon smiles readily. He holds his head higher, and he’s excited for the future.



“I am fine!” Odilon says, “…and when I see my face, it is good!”

Now Odilon would like to go back to school and become a doctor. “There are so many different diseases,” Odilon says, “and I will be able to help people feel better.”

“No one believed that he could have an operation that would work. No one else believed, because the surgery was too hard,” Veronique explains. “It’s been really a wonderful thing for the surgeons to do for Odilon, for all of us.”

Ummm, Can I Get A Speech Consult....

“Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The ability to communicate is powerful, allowing us to share ideas and engage in relationships. There are many mediums through which we communicate, including imagery, touch, and the written word. But our most frequent, and arguably most powerful, channel of communication is speech. Speech allows us to quickly articulate emotions, opinions, and thoughts. It’s a powerful ability.

Some patients onboard the Africa Mercy are discovering this power for the first time. Maxillofacial operations are an integral part of the surgical schedule during Mercy Ships 2009 Field Service in Benin. Many maxillofacial patients, particularly those with cleft lips/palates, have spent their lives communicating with impeded speech. Facial malformations of the oral and nasal passages, in conjunction with weakened lip muscles, make it impossible to articulate normal sounds. Impediments can range in severity from difficulty producing a few sounds to a complete inability to form understandable words.

Living with a speech impediment is embarrassing and frustrating. Often children are not sent to school because they can’t properly communicate. This lack of education stagnates their mental and relational development, causing problems that will follow them into their adult years. Restoring speech to a child can spare him or her from a lifetime of anguish.

Surgically correcting the facial anatomy is the first step to restoring speech. However, even after the facial anatomy is corrected, many still have difficulties speaking. Post-operative speech therapy is needed to retrain the mouth and throat to correctly form sounds.

“Even though the surgery is complete and successful, and they look more normal, it’s the therapy that’s going to make them sound better,” said speech therapist Sally Peet. “Just because the anatomy is corrected doesn’t mean they are able to use it to speak properly. Therapy is a huge part of making the surgery a success.”

Sally Peet of the United Kingdom has been a licensed speech therapist since 1994. Since 2004, she and her family have served with Mercy Ships. Currently, she provides speech therapy for patients onboard the Africa Mercy.



Peet described her work: “I work with the maxillofacial patients, mainly the cleft lips and the cleft palates. However, any surgery that’s interrupted the facial muscles may have a need for therapy. For example, when a patient has a large facial tumor removed, their skin and lips become flaccid, affecting their speech and their ability to control saliva. I work with them, as well as the cleft lip patients, to make sure their lips are strong.”




Patients with speech difficulties are referred to Peet post-operatively by the Africa Mercy nursing staff. She works individually with each patient, evaluating their needs and providing exercises to strengthen weakened muscles. Also, she encourages the proper usage of restored facial anatomy. “Many patients have found a way of ineffectively talking around huge malformations and have spoken incorrectly for years. The initial goal is to ensure the anatomy where the surgery has taken place will now be functional,” said Peet.



Peet works with patients throughout their time on the ward. When they leave the hospital, they come back to the Africa Mercy for outpatient appointments – sometimes for several months after their surgery. “I can achieve more with the ones who live closer, because I can see them for a longer period of time,” said Peet.



Peet describes a memorable patient she worked with for over three months during the 2008 Field Service in Liberia: “There was a beautiful little girl with a cleft lip and palate. She spoke without using any constants sounds, and you could not understand her when she talked. She and her mom worked incredibly hard in therapy. By the time we finished, she was totally intelligible and making every sound correctly. Her mother said all her aunties in her village were dancing because now, not only does she look beautiful, she sounds beautiful.”




Providing speech therapy is just one example of Mercy Ships commitment to holistic care for patients through the partnership of various professional skills. Sally Peet is thrilled to be partnering with the Africa Mercy’s surgical and nursing staff to provide hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor. “I love providing speech therapy. It’s great to be working in my profession onboard the Africa Mercy,” she concluded.

18 Will Be A Good Year

Adolescence is often an awkward and self-conscious time. During the transition into adulthood, physical appearance and peer recognition are extremely important. For 17-year-old Gyslain, teenage life was even more complicated due to a massive tumor growing on the side of his neck.

As a baby, Gyslain was quite healthy. But when he was three years old, his mother noticed a faint lump on his neck. His parents initially thought it was the result of a recent vaccination. However, when the lump began to grow, they realized it was something far more serious.

They took him to a local hospital in Benin, West Africa. The doctors were intimidated by the location of the tumor and the complex procedure that would be required to remove it. As a result, Gyslain and his parents were turned away. They tried other hospitals – with the same result. Eventually, they gave up in despair.

It was a very painful time for his mother, Leonie. She desperately wanted to help her son. To make the situation even worse, neighbours and relatives began to say that Gyslain had an evil spirit inside of him. Leonie shared her son’s shame, but her faith kept them both strong. She simply says, “If God gave Gyslain this problem, I trusted that He would take care of the problem. That was all we could do.”

The years passed. The tumor increased – and so did the harshness and humiliation of the taunts and insults Gyslain suffered from his peers. Gyslain wanted to fight back, but a fear of aggravating the tumor restrained him. He also felt vulnerable when exerting himself physically. Carrying heavy loads or even just running around caused Gyslain to feel pressure in his neck. He was scared that the tumor would grow larger or even burst.



Despite all this adversity, Gyslain developed close friendships with three boys his age. On weekends and in their spare time, they would wander the countryside and explore new places. For Gyslain, this acceptance from a few individuals was extremely important to him.

Gyslain also managed to get a job working as a mechanic’s apprentice in a garage. And his job put him in the right place at the right time for an incredible answer to prayer.

On a sweltering, humid day Gyslain’s boss asked him to fetch a broken motorbike. Gyslain set off to meet the man whose vehicle had ceased to function and found him stranded on the pavement of a busy road. When Gyslain introduced himself, the man did not respond. Instead, he stared blatantly at Gyslain’s tumor. Gyslain had dealt with such reactions for 14 years, so he simply continued to work with the bike. He was abruptly stopped when the man grabbed him by the shoulders. Wide-eyed and smiling, the man excitedly told Gyslain about an organization in Cotonou that could heal his tumor for free!

Gyslain had never heard of a Mercy Ship, and thought the man might be crazy. Besides, he could not afford the cost of travelling for eight hours to the port of Cotonou.

Once again, Gyslain took hold of the bike and began pushing it in the direction of the garage. But the man persisted. He offered to drive Gyslain to Cotonou, provided Gyslain could cover at least half the cost of fuel. “Who is this man?” Gyslain asked himself. “And why does he want to help me?”

A few weeks later, Gyslain was standing in a line with hundreds of other people, anxiously waiting to hear whether the doctors of Mercy Ships would be able to help him. The man who had been so eager to help Gyslain was standing beside him. His name was Kahou. Gyslain had eventually realised that Kahou was just a man with a loving heart.







Because of Kahou’s concern and the skillful surgeons onboard the Africa Mercy, Gyslain received a free operation to remove the hindering mass from his neck. Now the tumor – and his shame – are gone! He is a walking testimony to God’s faithfulness. “If you have your trust in God, nothing can destroy you,” Gyslain attested. “A tree can fall if the wind blows, but with trust in God, you will stand strong.”



As Gyslain nears his 18th birthday, he is enthusiastic about the future. “I want to continue training as a mechanic,” he said. “It is a good job, and when I have enough money, I am going to buy some land and build a house.” Gyslain’s newfound confidence and energy are evident in his eyes and in his voice. Thanks to Mercy Ships, his life has been transformed.

Showing Love And Compassion To The Terminally Ill

Even though Mercy Ships will provide free life-changing surgeries for thousands of people during this year’s outreach in Benin, there are cases where a person cannot be helped medically by Mercy Ships because of cancer or other terminal illnesses. However, there are still ways that Mercy Ships helps these suffering individuals. The Palliative Care (also known as Hospice in The States) and Outpatient Care project’s primary goal is to show love to those who are terminally ill and have little or no support from their families and community. This is achieved through the hard work of Palliative Care Coordinator June Fontes and her team – including nurse Suzanne Zickell (my roommate) and Tanguy, their translator. During the week, the team visits patients in their homes or in hospitals – talking, reading Scripture, and praying. Sometimes, because of their condition, a patient may require regular wound care to prevent infection.

Adele is one such patient that requires this care. A few years ago, a malignant tumor began to form on the right side of her face. Because of the unattractive appearance of the growth, she was abandoned by her husband. She now lives with and is cared for by her daughter, who has learned to effectively clean and dress the seeping lumps. “When I look at Adele, I am amazed that someone who has something that severe can still be singing God’s praises and laughing,” said June. Principles of basic hygiene, nutrition, pain control, and medication administration are taught to the patients and their closest family member or caregiver. Appropriate pain medication that they cannot afford is provided by Mercy Ships. Though June and her team bring physical relief, the emotional and spiritual healing that takes place is also notable.

“We’ve had numerous examples in this outreach of people telling us that they were initially hiding away, but when we came, we somehow gave them a level of value that they had not had before,” explained June. “We have watched people that were depressed become more joyful.”
Burkitt’s lymphoma is a type of cancer that occurs mainly among young children in equatorial Africa. If diagnosed and treated early on, the cancer can be completely eradicated. Seven-year-old Maurice recently began his first treatment of chemotherapy to combat this disease. June and her team visit Maurice and his mother on a weekly basis. Though he transfers between his aunt’s house and a local hospital in Cotonou to undergo nauseating chemotherapy, he manages to remain joyful, joking and laughing with June, Suzanne and Tanguy as they visit.


“The thing I enjoy most about my job is that we make difficult situations easier for each person we treat,” said June. However, the job is not without its challenges and frustrations. June explained that her team does not always get the cooperation that they would like. “Maurice’s doctor does not share information with us, so it makes things difficult because we feel more could be done if we were kept in the loop.”
When all the signs indicate that a patient is terminal, there is concern for how the patient will cope when Mercy Ships leaves at the end of an outreach. “A month before the departure, we start transitioning the patient and their caregivers” said June. “For example, if we are providing them with supplies that cannot be obtained here, we will start to teach them what other things can be used and where they can be acquired,” she elaborated.
“We also try to find a church where people are willing to come and pray for and read Scripture with the patient. It’s hard to leave, but we’ve never left anyone that wasn’t being transferred to some level of sustainable care,” June concluded.
Working in the field of palliative care, death is always present. It is an area of work that can be emotionally draining and traumatic. In the event of a patient’s passing, June and her team function as a support-base by grieving with the deceased’s family and loved ones and maintaining relationships with them.
The Palliative Care Team has shared God’s model of compassionate care and its importance with over 500 church leaders in Benin. Through the continued efforts of June and her team, Adele, Maurice, and other patients will continue to experience hope in a dignified and comfortable manner.

Ganiyou's Burns Finally Heal

Though he was born and raised in Benin, 26-year-old Ganiyou traveled to Europe to pursue entrepreneurial interests. Six years later, an established and relatively successful Ganiyou was working as a salesman in an English shoe store. After some time, he decided it was time to return to Benin to visit his mother.

Two weeks after returning, Ganiyou was attending to some much needed maintenance around his mother’s house. After removing a metal obstruction, he accidentally made contact with a high voltage power cable. He was electrocuted and thrown to the ground.

Ganiyou’s mother ran out of the house to find her son unconscious and without breath, burnt black from his face to his belly, some areas bleeding and exposed. A few seconds later he regained consciousness, shouting, “Save me, save me!” before passing out again.

Four days later he was lying in an ICU in Cotonou, facing a dramatic decision. The most brutal burns were to his arms. The doctor told Ganiyou that his left arm would need to be removed because it was completely dead. He refused, saying that he would rather die than have his arm cut off. Ganiyou’s mother managed to convince him to receive the amputation, telling him that she would take care of him for as long as necessary, even if it meant his entire life. Finally he relented. Sadly, four days later he parted with his right arm for the same reasons.

The burns to his chest and abdomen were severe. The pain medication seemed ineffective as his body continually surged with a piercing pain. Dressings and ointment were applied and changed weekly – an unbearably painful process. But after five months of agony, his burns had made almost no improvement, and most of his savings had been consumed by medical bills.



“I regret coming back to Benin,” said Ganiyou. “In the hospital, people were telling me that God had a reason for allowing this to happen. But I could not believe that it was God that would allow something like this.” One night, after nearly a year in hospital, confused and without hope, Ganiyou lay in his hospital bed unable to sleep. Then something on the flickering television screen caught his attention. It was an advertisement for Mercy Ships.

A few days later, Ganiyou found himself at a screening with Mercy Ships plastics specialist, Dr. Tertius Venter of South Africa. Dr. Venter determined that his burns would need to be treated before surgery could be attempted to apply skin grafts. Ganiyou was handed over to the full-time care of the Africa Mercy nursing staff.



A daily routine of dressing changes began. The process of removing old dressings, washing him under a shower, and the application of antibiotic cream and fresh dressings took up to two hours at a time. Though Ganiyou had been through this all before, he was far from used to it. For both him and the nurses, it was a traumatic and emotional experience. As weeks passed, the dressing changes gradually became less painful. Eventually Ganiyou no longer required pain medication. It became evident that his burns were finally healing.

“I am surprised at how quickly I am healing here,” he said. “My chest is almost completely healed. For over a year at the other hospitals it did not heal. They used everything, but here – for some reason – it works. I think it is because I am smiling more and am happy here,” Ganiyou concluded.

After six weeks, Ganiyou was reassessed by Dr. Venter. The prognosis was extremely positive. The burns had healed so well that Ganiyou required no skin graft surgery. Another encouraging outcome was that no contractures had developed – a restrictive tightening of the skin which often occurs as a burn heals.



For an entire year Ganiyou struggled with burns that refused to heal, yet in a matter of weeks onboard the Africa Mercy, he experienced a nearly complete recovery. His life has been changed. “Before I knew about God, but I did not practice my beliefs. I did things to please myself.” But he has since changed his mind and now believes God has a plan for him. “Sometimes bad can be for good. In life, one must accept what happens and keep moving forward because you do not know the future. Only God knows,” Ganiyou said.

Ganiyou’s recovery is a testament to the very love in action that Mercy Ships endeavours to achieve – as demonstrated by the nurses, doctors, and crew onboard the Africa Mercy. His mother has also been a huge support to him, constantly encouraging and helping him to adjust to a new lifestyle.



Though it will take some time for him to adjust to living without arms, he is overjoyed that his damaged skin has finally healed. Mercy Ships is currently helping Ganiyou find some prosthetic arms that will enable him to have some independence again. “I hope that one day I can start doing things normally again,” he said.

Thanks to Mercy Ships, hope and healing have been brought to a man who has experienced tremendous pain and suffering.

From Suffering To Joy

“I was eighteen years old when this happened to me,” Rebecca says. She is speaking in her native dialect in front of dozens of people. She is wearing a new dress to denote her new life as she shares her story of anguish. “I was in labor for five days, and finally I went to the hospital. The baby was dead. And I was wounded in such a way that I thought I would never walk again.”

Rebecca, now 35 years old, traveled from neighboring Togo to the Mercy Ship in Benin. She had shouldered the burden of obstetric fistula for 17 years. This childbirth injury often occurs in areas without adequate obstetric care and leaves the mother incontinent. Frequently, the woman is abandoned by her husband, and having more children becomes difficult or impossible. At first Philip, the baby’s father, did abandon her. For the next few months, Rebecca’s family took care of her. Eventually, Philip returned. “It was God who brought him back,” Rebecca says. Otherwise, she feels she might have been alone forever.

Rebecca and Philip were married and now have five children, but she still carried the shame of her condition and tried to hide it from everyone around her. She did not leave the house, and the only person outside her family who knew of her condition was her neighbor, who saw her washing out soiled clothes and hanging them to dry. “I worried for so long,” Rebecca says. “I was very discouraged, and because I didn’t have enough money, I couldn’t go to the hospital for treatment.”

When Rebecca eventually came to the Mercy Ship, a nurse sat with her and asked her the standard questions to establish her medical history – questions that were painful for Rebecca to answer. How many children have you delivered? How many are still alive? How long ago did the injury occur? Did your husband leave you? As the nurse paused in her questions and put her hand on Rebecca’s knee, Rebecca began to cry.

Then, the night before her surgery, Rebecca lay in her hospital bed and tears formed in her eyes as she remembered the long years of suffering that lay behind her. “I just remembered the past,” Rebecca says. “For seventeen years, I have been like this.” Those years were long and hard as she fought to forget her problem so she could be a good mother, trying to find the right answers when her children asked why she needed to layer cloth beneath her before she went to bed at night.

Now, as Rebecca shares her story, there is no sadness, because her surgery was successful. Her smile is constant and sweet. She wants to sing, dance and give thanks. Rebecca goes home with her shame replaced by hope for the future. She is happy to be with her children, her husband, her family, and her neighbors. She is healed, in both her body and spirit. “I was so thirsty and I came here to the Mercy Ship and was given a drink. You have taken care of me better than a mother. You have done everything – even clothed me,” she joyfully says as she smiles and motions to her beautiful new dress.

Through The Eyes Of A Child

One Friday afternoon, an elderly woman showed up at the Mercy Ship in Benin with her newborn grandson in her arms. The baby was a mere three hours old and did not yet have a name, but his need for immediate medical attention was obvious.

Conjunctivitis that began in the womb had caused the lining of the baby’s eyelids to swell. Two globular red sacs protruded from his eyes, blocking his vision and flipping his eyelids inside-out. This condition left his tiny eyes unprotected and exposed. Left untended, they would be damaged beyond repair. His mother, Janette, didn’t know what was wrong with her baby and was horrified by his appearance.



“When I saw him, I was suffering,” Janette said. “I thought my baby did not have eyelids.”

At the maternity clinic in Porto-Novo, they told Janette the baby needed to go to Cotonou, Benin’s capital, where more advanced medical care is available. So, the baby’s grandmother bundled up the yet-unnamed child and climbed onto the back of a motorcycle taxi, the primary mode of transportation in Benin.

“When the motorcycle taxi driver saw the baby’s eyes, he was afraid,” Janette said. Still, he agreed to carry them to Cotonou. The doctors at the hospital in Cotonou told the grandmother to take the baby to the Mercy Ship. Fortunately, it was a Friday – the only day of the week the ship’s operating rooms for eye surgeries are not booked full with cataract patients – so the baby was able to be seen immediately.

Dr. Jim performed a simple operation to drain the infection and turned the eyelids in the correct direction.

The baby was given antibiotics and was kept overnight. The next day, Janette was able to leave the hospital and travel to Cotonou herself to see her baby. They were released to go home soon after.

Even in such a short time, the visual transformation was dramatic. The baby, now named Desiré, returned for a post-operative appointment a week later. On the way back to the ship, Janette happened upon the same motorcycle taxi driver who had brought Desiré and his grandmother to the ship the first time. He could not believe the difference and told Janette how happy it made him to see the baby was healed. Janette certainly agreed with him. “The goodness that Mercy Ships has done makes me so happy,” Janette said. “If Mercy Ships was not around, where would I have gone?”

If At First You Don't Succeed.....

In 2005, the Mercy Ship Anastasis docked in the port of Cotonou, Benin, to provide free operations. For 14-year-old Alfred, it was just in time. For four years, a rare facial tumor had been growing, disfiguring his face. The five-pound-tumor enveloped his lower jaw and teeth and hung down like a large melon. The pink mass protruded from his mouth, preventing him from eating. Alfred’s weight dropped to 44 pounds – five of which were the tumor. His eyes revealed the agonizing suffering.





Alfred’s father, Bessan, was a fisherman in their small village and had little money for medical treatments – but he tried to find help for his son. According to their traditional voodoo religion, Alfred's tumor was the result of witchcraft, so they visited over a dozen traditional healers. They poked holes in Alfred’s skin, applied pastes, and prescribed animal sacrifices and prayers to their ancestors. A medical doctor also examined Alfred but said he could do nothing. After all the time and money wasted on unsuccessful treatments, Alfred’s family despaired.

People in the community avoided Alfred, thinking his “sickness” was contagious or that he was cursed. Some people avoided him because seeing his condition and being unable to help was too much to stomach. Because of humiliation, the family hid Alfred away in the innermost room of their small house. Then a Christian pastor told the family about Mercy Ships, where Alfred could receive free medical treatment. Bessan, disillusioned by failure after failure, reluctantly agreed to take his son to the ship. Alfred’s tumor was removed, and doctors inserted a titanium plate and pieces of his rib to fashion a new jaw to replace the one destroyed by the tumor.



Then in January of 2009, Alfred – now 19 years old – began noticing a swelling in his upper jaw, just beside his nose. Alfred and his family knew that the new Mercy Ship, the Africa Mercy, had returned to Cotonou. They journeyed to the ship and saw Dr. Gary Parker and other long-term crew members who had treated Alfred in 2005.



This time, Alfred had no apprehension about the outcome of his visit. X-rays showed the metal plate in his mouth, the structure that had held firm over the years – allowing Alfred to eat, smile, and grow into a healthy young man with a quiet disposition and a love of mathematics.



However, the x-ray also showed a small tumor forming where Alfred had noticed swelling, and Dr. Parker scheduled surgery for the next day. The tumor was removed quickly, and Alfred’s recovery required only a few days. Now he is home again, going back to school and playing football with his friends.



In spite of the passage of time and the happy outcome, Bessan and Alfred both still feel the past acutely. Alfred can’t bear to see the pictures of how he looked before – “It makes me want to cry,” he says. Bessan just shakes his head, saying, “People would stare and think it’s horrible. All he had was a cloth around his neck to cover it so people wouldn’t see it. Now I can go out with him proudly. ‘Let’s go out fishing,’ I’ll say. And he will do it with all joy.”