Tani - "I AM BEAUTIFUL!"

Tani Nakabe: I Am Beautiful

In the dockside Mercy Ships admissions tent, a young girl poked her head around different corners and people. Whenever someone looked up, they merely caught a quick glimpse before she was out of sight again. Her distant giggles filled the air as she sneaked her way around the crowd, always blending in with the other patients. Finally, she jumped out and laughed as her name was called, “Tani Nakabe.”

Tani is 11 years old and has come to the Africa Mercy to continue the repair on her severe facial burns. In 2010, she had a free surgery onboard the hospital ship to repair her upper lip and to begin the reconstruction process on her nose.

Tani’s burns date back to when she was only one year old. She was playing on the floor while her mother cooked dinner on an open fire inside the grass hut. When her mother left to fetch water, the unthinkable happened. The grass hut caught on fire, spreading ferociously as the dry grass fueled its fury. Little Tani was trapped in the house and surrounded by flames. Luckily, her father saw the fire and pulled her from the inferno. Tani’s head and body were still burning. A neighbor, trying to help, grabbed the nearest bottle of what appeared to be water and threw it over the child. Unfortunately, it was not water – it was palm wine alcohol. The burns seared her face, leaving Tani with no nose and a severely damaged right eye and upper lip.

Tani’s entire village remembered the tragedy of that day and never persecuted Tani for her appearance. She was able to attend school. In fact, she is at the top of her class. This acceptance, unusual in the superstitious West African culture, allowed Tani to grow up as a joyful child. Her infectious laughter melts the heart, and her smile brightens any room.

Despite her appearance, Tani is brave and bold. Many crew members remember her marching through the ship’s hallways in 2010 shouting, “I AM BEAUTIFUL!” in English. After receiving her first surgery, Tani’s demeanor never changed. Every day she went up to deck seven of the Africa Mercy and played with all the other children.

This year, Tani’s damaged right eye was removed and a skin graft was placed in its stead to help with her appearance. Dr. Gary Parker, Chief Medical Officer and surgeon, explains, “Her right eye was partially destroyed by the burn, but remnants of the eye remained. Her eye would weep continuously and had the appearance of an open wound that never healed.”

Tani’s appearance will improve, and the difficulty with her damaged eye will be gone. But her joyful, courageous personality will have the greatest impact as her voice rings out, declaring, “I AM BEAUTIFUL!”



Tani when she first came to the ship in 2010.




Tani when she came back to the ship this year, 2012.





Me and Tani - I'll never forget this little girl! Full of so much joy!



Philomene's Hope is Restored!

Philoméne Digbeli Gboko stood in line at the UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) refugee camp in Togo, West Africa. It was early in the morning and the line was long, but she hoped that the Mercy Ships Eye Team could help her. Philoméne, like everyone else in line, was a refugee from the Ivory Coast. For the past eleven months, she had lived inside the refugee camp with 3,000 other people. Space was tight, and resources were limited for everyone living there, but for Philoméne, the living conditions were not the hardest reality to endure.

Less than a year ago, she was living in the Ivory Coast. One day, she went to visit a friend, and this act saved Philoméne’s life. When she returned home, she found her home consumed in a fury of flames caused by rebel soldiers. Inside, she could hear the screams of her entire family as they perished in the fire. In fear that the rebels would discover that she had survived, she grabbed everything not consumed by flames and ran for her life. She was never even able to bury her family.

Philoméne had a rough start at the refugee camp. The weight of her tragic loss was a heavy burden, and no one could lift her spirits as she mourned the loss of everyone she knew and loved. The UNHCR sent psychologists to help her, but they concluded that what she needed was time to deal with her grief.
Another problem for Philoméne was that, in her rush to leave the Ivory Coast, she grabbed the wrong pair of glasses. She tried to wear them, even though they caused her much pain.

As Philoméne waited in line, she was filled with hope that maybe she would be able to see more clearly once again. To her pleasant surprise, as she neared the end of the process, she was fitted for a pair of glasses donated by Coastal Contacts. “I am very excited and have a lot of joy because these glasses will make life easier for me. This is the first sign that my life might be turning around,” she said as tears streamed down her face.

As Philoméne enjoyed wearing her new glasses, she added, “I have lost my words to thank you because words are not enough. God Bless those who donated the glasses because they have blessed me.”

28 March 2012
Written by Nicole Pribbernow
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Debra Bell

The Difference a Cleft Lip Makes!

I want to show you the difference a cleft lip makes in a babies life. This is often hard to show, is the child small because he is in Africa or is it really just the cleft lip? Our Infant Feeding program currently has a perfect example of the difference a cleft lip makes. The pictures below are of twin boys. Same age, same circumstances…major difference between them because one has a cleft lip.

Our Infant feeding program help malnourished babies gain the much needed weight. For this little guy, he needs to put on weight for surgery to repair his cleft lip.