Five-year-old Namina Yillah suffered from the life-threatening condition commonly known as noma. This malicious and aggressive bacteria destroys the flesh, and it targets children. The statistics are alarming for infant mortality.
Namina was born a healthy baby in Bilo, a village in Sierra Leone, West Africa. When Namina was only18 months old, her mother Wara first noticed symptoms of the savage disease. “At one time in the early morning, her face swelled covering her eyes,” she recalls. With a feeling of dread, she wrapped her baby in a blanket and rushed to the hospital.
The hospital offered daily injections for a week. Dutifully, Wara wrapped Namina onto her back to walk to the hospital each day, yet Namina’s facial tissue continued to rapidly deteriorate. The gaping hole in her face began to expose her bones and emitted a pungent odor. The disease was taking a firm grip on Namina’s life.
Wara and her husband were confronted with a desolate existence. They lived day to day on a meager income with every breath dedicated to providing for their seven children and caring for Namina.
Wara’s tenuous world imploded when her husband died from an illness. Grief extended its claws to grip the family. There was no money and no one to help . . . and Namina was on the brink of death.
Wara woke early each morning to go to the bush to collect firewood to sell. The few pennies she earned were insufficient to feed her family well, but provided enough scraps of food to barely survive. To exacerbate the difficulties, Namina was beaten by other children. Her deformed face made her a target for bullies. Wara lived in a bleak, dark world that was devoid of hope.
During these difficult days, Wara’s younger brother, Alie, came to her rescue. He drove Wara and Namina to Lungi hospital. The doctors were unable to diagnose the child’s condition, so they transferred her to Aberdeen clinic in Freetown. At last, the first glimmer of hope emerged when Mercy Ships funded the transportation and medical care.
Wara nods for emphasis when she recalls, “Doctor Sandra always encouraged me to wait for Mercy Ships. Without Sandra, if she never come into my life, I give up on life.”
Several years passed. The intensive treatment provided by Dr. Lako had saved Namina’s life, but the little girl still needed surgery to reconstruct her face.
Finally, the Africa Mercy docked in Freetown. Upon seeing the ship, Wara was beset with fears of the unknown. This vast floating metal bowl was likely to devour any living being. So, Wara did what she always does in times of stress. “I always looked to the Almighty to help me,” she explains.
In the ward onboard the hospital ship, Mercy Ships nurses greeted Wara and Namina with warmth and gentle kindness. Overwhelmed by the strangeness of their surroundings, the mother and daughter remained silent.
Accustomed to ridicule and mistreatment, Namina instinctively withdrew to protect herself from the harsh realities of her life. It would take time to understand and trust this new environment. In the meantime, her eyes were determinedly fixed on the ground, and she remained unresponsive even in her native language. On the rare occasions when she glanced up, her burning stare was accompanied by an angry pout. It was evident that she was guarding against any threats to her life.
Finally, it was time for Namina’s surgery. The complex medical procedure involved cutting a flap on her scalp in order to gather tissue to pull through to her cheek to fill the hole in her face. Wara watched anxiously as Namina was wheeled into the Operating Room. She sadly recalls, “During Namina’s surgery I felt so discouraged. I felt Namina will never make it. I wondered if I had a reason to live.” But the compassion and love of the crew members broke through her wall of silence. “Nurse Dan played a great role to make me feel fine,” she shares with a smile.
Through the compassionate and skillful hands of maxillofacial surgeon, Dr. Gary Parker, Namina received a life-changing surgery. And Wara’s hopes and dreams are emerging once again.
Story by Claire Ross
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Debra Bell
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