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"When she
took my hand, I had no words. I don’t know what happened
between us, but I fell in love with the spirit of this little
seven-year-old girl." |
Meeting Hawa
by Pierre Christ, Geneva,
Switzerland
Short-term Volunteer,
M/V Anastasis
Adventure
in Africa
When
I first saw the ship, I had a very deep inside feeling. I boarded
the Anastasis in Cape Town, South Africa on a Sunday, at the end
of her public relations tour. Three days later, the Mercy Ship began
a 10-day sail to return to Liberia, West Africa.
My job onboard was in the Renovations department,
helping to keep the aging former cruise ship functional for the
more than 300 volunteers living onboard.
While we sailed and docked in Liberia, I spent
hours chipping and painting to help renovate a section of cabins
on C-deck that will house 16 nurses at a time.
It was an amazing three weeks for me –
full of emotions and many wonderful new friends. It felt like being
at home.
A
Chance Encounter
The day before I left, they held the first medical screening
in Liberia. As one of the non-medical crew, I signed up as a volunteer
to help. The night before the screening, they announced that due
to election demonstrations, not all of the volunteers would be able
to go. Disappointed, I prepared to spend my Saturday onboard instead.
That afternoon I happened to be near the
ship’s gangway when they announced there was a Land Rover
going back to the screening site and they had space for just one
volunteer. So I went.
When I got into the Land Rover, I saw a sight
I will never forget. In the seat next to me was a grotesque mass
of flesh spilling out of where a mouth would be, and behind it,
the eyes of a beautiful little girl.
I felt no shock, no repulsion – only
compassion. When she took my hand, I had no words. I don’t
know what happened between us, but I fell in love with the spirt
of this brave little seven-year-old girl. I led her into the screening
hospital to see the surgeons. It took several hours of tests before
they determined that her tumour was not malignant, and accepted
her for surgery.
Hawa and her father were admitted to the ship’s
hospital the day I left. I visited them in the ward, and again I
held the hand of this girl who could not speak, while I had a long
conversation with her father.
Hawa's
Miracle
Back home I anxiously awaited emails from friends on the
ship updating me on Hawa’s condition.
They told me that when she looked at herself
for the first time in the mirror, she began to weakly speak over
and over, “Hawa is beautiful, Hawa is beautiful.”
Hawa can now speak. Soon she will be able
to go to school. It is amazing that I was there that Saturday by
the gangway at just the right time. It is amazing that I was the
one to sit next to her, and hold her hand.
I volunteered with Mercy Ships because I wanted
to help change lives. Hawa's life was indeed forever changed. And
so was mine.
For more information
about volunteering with Mercy Ships, click here >>
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