Hadiatou was born with a cleft lip, a condition so repugnant and
frightening to the people in her village that they believed she should
not be given a name. Even her father felt this way and refused to allow
her to have the traditional baby naming ceremony.
Fatumata, the baby’s mother, remembers these early days all too well.
“Ousaman, my husband, had a stone heart that made me very unhappy. I
knew that God loved our daughter, so why didn’t he?” Even some
sympathetic neighbors implored Ousaman to support his newborn daughter.
But Ousaman refused to budge, forcing Fatumata to make a painful
decision. She would hold her own ceremony to name her child. “It was
very difficult to go against my husband, but our daughter was a human
being, and I loved her. No matter her condition, she would have a name.”
Fatumata prayed about a good name for her daughter, choosing
“Hadiatou,” which means well-loved. She prayed that the love in this name would one day bring Hadiatou the healing she needed.
Despite her cleft lip, Hadiatou was a happy child who touched the hearts
of her two brothers, Ousaman and Mamadou, with her unique smile.
Fatumata recalls, “Hadiatou’s brothers always thought that Hadiatou was
so courageous. They played with her and sang her songs to help her go to
sleep.”
Hadiatou, true to her name of being well-loved, also softened her
father’s heart. According to Fatumata, “There was something in
Hadiatou’s courage that made Ousaman feel differently. While it still
pained him to have a daughter with a deformity, he developed a grudging
affection for her spirit. Instead of accepting insults about Hadiatou,
he would speak up for her.”
While she prayed for God to help Hadiatou, Fatumata admits she was
doubtful. “I did not know what caused Hadiatou’s cleft lip. No one in
the village had a condition like this, so we all believed it was
something that could not be fixed. I could not imagine that there were
people who could treat something like this.”
When Hadiatou was seventeen, something quite unexpected happened. Samba,
a fine young farmer she met through her brother Mamadou, fell head over
heels in love with her. Samba was drawn to Hadiatou’s kindness and her
sense of humor. He saw great beauty in her eyes, and he knew Hadiatou
was the wife God had made for him. Fatumata felt a stirring of hope for
her daughter. If God sent Hadiatou a husband, maybe he would send her
healing too!
When Hadiatou and Samba were blessed with a chubby baby boy, they talked
about having a very special baby naming ceremony – to help make up for
what Hadiatou missed. But suddenly, plans for the naming ceremony were
put on joyful hold. Samba’s cousin Manay, three villages away, confided
to Samba that their two-month-old son, Bubacar, had a funny lip like
Hadiatou’s, but that a hospital ship in Conakry fixed it. Immediately,
Samba borrowed the money needed for Hadiatou, her mother, and the baby
to go to Conakry to Mercy Ships. Hadiatou and Fatumata were first taken
to the HOPE Center for the weekend, until Hadiatou could be examined
first thing Monday morning. Fatumata was overwhelmed by the reception
they received.
On Monday, Hadiatou was given an appointment for surgery. And, by the
end of the week, her cleft lip was repaired and on the mend. After two
weeks of tender post-op care, she was ready to return home. As Hadiatou
left the hospital for the last time, Fatumata turned to her and said,
“Praise God for this miracle. Thanks to Mercy Ships we will have the
most beautiful baby naming ceremony ever . . . with the most beautiful
mother there is!”
Written by Joanne Thibault
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photographs by Debra Bell and Bright Effowe
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