Capacity Building and New Power
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reason that people hesitate to use the hospital is the prevailing public opinion that a hospital is where one goes to die. Happy patients can change public opinion. One of the delighted recipients of eye surgery was Mandoyisile Esther Ntanjana. She was totally blind when her neighbor heard about the Mercy Ships Eye Team and encouraged her to have the surgery to remove the cataracts. Now, Manoyisile’s brilliant smile reflects her great joy. She excitedly declared, “I had a dark view before. Now I can see! I am happy!”
Onward to Sierra Leone In February 2011 the Africa Mercy, now a much quieter and more fuelefficient ship, sailed into Freetown to begin a 10-month field service—its fifth visit to Sierra Leone in 18 years. A special welcome greeted the ship and its dedicated crew. Looking very sharp in his Boy Scout uniform, nine-year-old Joseph Fofanah stepped up to accept his country’s flag. Then he marched crisply to place it in the stand, saluted, and retreated. It was appropriate that this young man participated in the ceremony to welcome the arrival of the Africa Mercy in Sierra Leone. Mercy Ships played a very important role in Joseph’s life. He was born with a cleft palate and cleft lip. This serious birth defect negatively impacts the lives of many African children. In fact, it is often a death sentence due to the lack of available health care plus the superstitious view of deformities. Fortunately, his mother, Isatu, realized that her son needed a medical procedure to repair the cleft. However, the cost of the surgery was more than she and her husband could afford. “But the doctor who delivered Joseph told me not to worry,” said Isatu. “A Mercy Ship is just on the way.” Joseph had his first surgery in 2002, when he was almost four months old, and he received a second surgery the following year. He has no memory of his problem or of his Mercy Ships experiences, but the success of the procedures is evident in his brilliant smile. Today, Joseph is a happy, active fourth-grader. His favorite subject is mathematics, which may have something to do with his ambition to be a banker one day. An avid football (soccer) enthusiast, he is the goalie on his school team.