Mohammed

Another great post reblogged from "Ainsworths in Africa".  Enjoy Mohammed's story!

When baby Mohammed was born with his cleft lip and palate it was the talk of the village. People assumed he was the result of witchcraft – that he was cursed and a danger to those around him. After the excitement of her pregnancy, 19 year old Sayoe never imagined she would be greeted with anything except joy when she gave birth to her first child.  Despite everyone around her telling her to destroy the baby – she kept him. Despite everyone telling her he was a ‘devil child’ – she held him. Despite being accused of infidelity and risking her marital home – she loved him. She named the child Mohammed meaning ‘praise-worthy’, and so began the journey of a mother’s faithfulness to her son.

 

“People told me to get rid of him” recalled Sayoe. “They told me I had done something wrong, dabbled in witchcraft and that I should leave him by the side of the road to die. But I just couldn’t do it. He is my first child and I love him.”

Alone and afraid, she took him to a local clinic in her home country of Sierra Leone after experiencing difficulties feeding. It was here that she met a doctor from Holland, Dr. Sandra, who spent 14 years with Mercy Ships as a child while her parents served as volunteers in 1980. She knew that the Africa Mercy was due to arrive in the neighboring country of Guinea and so she arranged for Sayoe and Mohammed to make their way to the ship where she was confident they would be accepted and healed.

“It is a delight and a privilege to send children to Mercy Ships for surgery”, says Dr.Sandra. “Not only because the surgery itself is so life-changing, but also because I know the love and kindness shown to the mother and child during their stay brings restoration, hope and healing to the entire family.”

Now 8 months old, Mohammed and his mother travelled to the Africa Mercy along with the other mothers and babies referred by Dr. Sandra. It was here that Sayoe found friendships through a common bond of mothers loving their children enough to be outcast by their communities: “It has been nice to not be alone here – there are others out there who have suffered like I have and I have been able to make friends” said Sayoe.

As is all too common in these kinds of cultures, a lot of blame is put on the mother of a child born with a cleft lip. Sayoe spent her time on the Africa Mercy learning to break the guilt and stigma that had been put on her since the birth of Mohammed. Thanks to her love for her son and her determination to get him surgery, her beautiful baby has been given a chance at life – a life that she sacrificed her own chances for.

Following his surgery, Mohammed showcased his beautiful new smile to his doting mother as she realized she had given the gift of life to her little boy, not once, but twice.