CBS 60 Minutes On the Africa Mercy

Time is winding down here in Togo, West Africa (Only 2 weeks of surgery left and I leave in 2 weeks!) and I find myself so busy with last minute projects that I quickly forget about my blog! The past few weeks have been filled with patients, vision trips, and media teams. One media team that has claimed some of my time is 60 Minutes! You’ve got that right; CBS 60 minutes had 2 producers, a film crew, and even Scott Pelley (anchor of the famed show). It has been quite an adventure working with them.

First, I drove them 3 ½ hours north to a small village where a patient from 1995 lives. Let me tell you, 7 hours of defensive driving in West Africa is tough, but the conversations were rich and I hope I was able to help the producer get a sense of who we are.

Later that week, something completely frustrating happened. One of the film crew had their hotel room broken into! So I was “blessed” with the opportunity to be Mercy Ships representative and help him at the police station. This ended up being a 4 hour interview/interrogation that left everyone unsatisfied.  

Monday, I drove two of the film crew to the airport. I have to say that I am both impressed and blessed to have met such a wonderful group of people. Their professionalism made our job a lot easier and we could tell that they really respected us. Where some people fear of what they will report (60 minutes is known for their investigative tactics that shine the light on all sorts of issues in the world) I said goodbye to them completely comfortable that Mercy Ships has made a positive impact on their lives.

As they all make their way back home, I pray that God will bless them for the way they have blessed us. I pray that Mercy Ships vision and mission truly inspire them to see the heart of us volunteers and that they will want to report on the thousands of lives we change every year. I hope that as they have to go through the pain staking process of dwindling 1800 minutes of footage down to a 12 minute show that God would guide their hands, minds, and spirits as the decided what to choose. Lord, most importantly, I pray that as they go back to their lives you keep itching at their hearts. That what they’ve seen here in West Africa inspires them to see the power of your hand in everything we do. Thank you Lord, so much, for such a wonderful opportunity for the USA to hear and see the detail of what it is we do here for the people of West Africa.

Afi's Release from Shackles

“Every moment of my life is difficult to survive. I struggle greatly, and I struggle alone,” Afi says with tear-filled eyes that testify to the pain she has suffered for the last four years. As she speaks of the suffering she has endured, she takes a rag to wipe the tears streaming down her scarred face and recounts her story with courage and grace.

Afi suffers from a disorder called epilepsy. She can suddenly have seizures that force her body into debilitating tremors. One day in 2008, Afi was cooking over a fire with her one-month-old son strapped to her back. Suddenly, she felt ill and thought she needed to sit down. Before she had time to react, her body went into a seizure, forcing her to fall face-first into the fire. She lay there in the fire, seizing helplessly. Luckily, her infant son was not harmed, but the damage to Afi was brutal. She suffered severe burns on her face, neck, hands, and legs.

Afi tried to go to a hospital to get medical help, but the hospital turned her away because she had no one to take care of her son. As her wounds began to heal, her skin started to contract, pulling her face down and her shoulder upwards. The injuries became her shackles over the next four years. Afi’s husband left her because he could not stand to look at her. Riddled with guilt, he ended up committing suicide, leaving Afi to be the sole parent to their three children.

People believed that Afi’s deformity was the result of a curse. She was no longer able to sell fruit in the market because people were too afraid of her. She was forced into a life of isolation, with only her children to help her. The village would no longer allow Afi to walk through the center, touch anything, or be near anybody. When children caught a glimpse of Afi's face, they ran away in fear. She had to hide in her home. If she wanted to go anywhere, she had to sneak around the outskirts of town.

Recently, she went to the hospital again, desperately seeking help. Catching a glimpse of a TV, she heard that Mercy Ships was coming to Togo, West Africa. Afi wrote down the dates. Leaving her children with her father-in-law, Afi tried to get to the port. Relentlessly, she made three trips to the port gates, each time being turned away by the local security. Finally, she was allowed through and examined by Mercy Ships crew.

It was a wonderful day when she was given her appointment card. “I know now that things are going to be better. I can tell my life will move in that direction,” Afi says as she spends her days on her hospital bed onboard the Africa Mercy. Afi’s surgery will release the contracted skin, allowing her neck and shoulder to move again. Her eyelids and lips will be released and repaired. She will receive function and movement again – release from the shackles, the injuries that have held her captive.

She has already had a taste of how much better her life will be. Mercy Ships crew are not afraid of her, and they look her in the eyes. This is the start of a new life, with new hope and a new future. She smiles through her tears saying, “Thank you for everything, and thank you to everybody. I now see a new life coming my way. I pray God will help me each step of the way.”

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.

The best experience of my life thus far!

Have you ever been blessed with an experience that will forever be molded into the best day of your life? Birth of a Child? Your wedding maybe? Well, for me my day came in mid-February this year. This experience is, hands down, the best experience I’ve ever had the privilege of being apart of. This was the day that we took Radia home and her family was going to see her for the first time without her tumor. The drive was long but it was so worth the experience. When we arrived, our land rover was surrounded by people coming to see Radia. As she climbed out of the back of the vehicle, she tried to quickly get to her home. She was overwhelmed with those that came to see her. People were crying everywhere. Tears of pure joy. Tears of unbelief that this was the same girl that left their home two weeks prior. We walked up to Radia’s home and were instantly surrounded by even more people. Radia’s great aunt grabbed my arm and pulled me to the center. She gave me a chair and forced me to sit down. She then went into a speech telling everyone in the community how I visited Radia every day. She told them that I went down to paint her finger nails and always make sure that they had everything they needed. Then she talked about Radia’s surgery and what the ship had given her. Then there was a parade of people all coming up to Radia and then coming to me. They would kneel at my feet and bow singing praises to God for giving me to them. Praising God for Mercy Ships. Then they would grab my hand and shout praises even more. The entire time Radia sat very close to me, always close enough to touch me. The entire experience was so overwhelming for her (and me) as she was use to hiding and didn’t really know these people.

So the day was very overwhelming and I couldn’t believe that God had blessed me with such an amazing experience. I’ve attached the pictures to this blog as proof of this life changing event.



Radia leaving the ship for the last time



Radia getting her final check - she's excited to go home!



This was Radia's first trip home - Me and my team drove her home



It was emotional for distant family and neighbors to see the difference in Radia's face.



Meeting neighbors



Radia starts crying as everyone around her is also in tears

Radia looks sad - she really misses her father - who died 1 month before surgery. He won't see her new face.





We just told her we had to go - it breaks the heart to see her disappointment!

 

We kept trying to get a "family picture" and they kept pulling me in the shot