G'day Team,
I just wanted to share a story with you about God coming into the life of a little boy called Yaya.
Our writers on the ship did a great job capturing his amazing story so here it is...
Yaya Relies
on a Grandmother’s Love
Rather than
joyous celebration, the reaction to Yaya’s birth was broken family ties. Yaya’s
mother, Salematou, and his father, Abdulaye, were not married when their son
was born. The tradition that Salematou’s father lived by did not make room for
a child born out of wedlock. Despite Salematou’s pleading with her father to
allow her to keep her child, his decision was final. As soon as Yaya could
leave his mother’s breast, he was sent to live with Kadiatou, his grandmother
on his father’s side.
Living with his
grandmother turned out to be a wonderful blessing for Yaya. Kadiatou
personifies the bottomless heart and limitless space that African grandmothers
offer their children and their children’s children. She assumes whatever
responsibility comes her way, no matter the burden. Kadiatou explains, “There
are many mouths that I feed in my family. In addition to Yaya, five of my
children and their nine children need my support too. Everyone shares in the
work of the household, but earning income in Conakry is very difficult. My
husband now, Mamadouba, is very old. He gives what money he can, but he has
family to support too.”
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Yaya is blessed with a grandmother who is devoted to his
well-being and healing. Kadiatou and her eldest son, also named Yaya, talk with
volunteer Hospital Chaplain Clementine Tengue about the sometimes challenging
journey to healing that brought Yaya to Mercy Ships.
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Yaya stole his
grandmother’s heart from day one. His ready smile and eagerness to be close to
her formed a thick bond. When tragedy struck Yaya, Kadiatou was distraught.
“Yaya started walking when he was one year old, but after taking a few steps he
would fall. We tried many traditional medicines, but his condition grew worse.
At eighteen months, his legs started to twist and curl up. They failed him
entirely.”
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Yaya was born with a condition that caused his bones to be
very brittle. When Yaya started to walk, the pressure on the bones in his legs
caused multiple fractures. As a result, Yaya’s legs twisted and curled. By
eighteen months of age, he was unable to walk at all.
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Yaya’s uncle,
also named Yaya, remembers this as a time of many trials for his mother. “Kadiatou was so afraid for Yaya. He often
had a high fever, and his legs would cramp up terribly. He would cry for hours
from the pain. Kadiatou tried everything to soothe him. She held him for hours.
Then my father and sister died very close together. My mother’s heart was
broken into so many pieces.”
Kadiatou, who
had taken in her daughter’s five children, decided that moving the family to
Conakry, the capital of Guinea, was best for Yaya. “I hoped that the medical
care Yaya needed was in a big city. As well, I knew that Conakry had schools
for handicapped children that Yaya could attend.” Another important reason for
the move was that Kadiatou was protecting Yaya from the villagers who thought
that children with disabilities were cursed. She would not stand for her
grandson being tormented, ridiculed, or forced into hiding.
When Yaya
reached five years of age, he started attending the school for handicapped
children. “I was so happy for Yaya. He started to learn his letters and bring
home things he made,” Kadiatou says. Although there were no school fees and
transportation was provided, Kadiatou still had expenses to cover, like school
supplies. She made ends meet by going to the Grand Mosque daily and helping
with cleaning and cooking. After a full year of being a volunteer, she was
finally included in the group that received a weekly stipend, plus donations of
money and food from appreciative people attending the Mosque.
Yaya often
joined Kadiatou at the Mosque after school, and he soon became a favorite with
everyone. In the Muslim faith, people are eager to help the needy as a way of
observing sadaqah, the duty to
overcome miserliness. Many Muslims wanted Yaya to join the group of handicapped
people who begged, so that people could give to him. Kadiatou was against
Yaya’s doing this, regardless of the enormous struggle she had to support the
family. “I faced so much pressure to allow Yaya, in such obvious need, to help
people fulfill their duty to sadaqah.
I finally relented,” she explains.
Kadiatou
continued to be distressed with Yaya’s participating in sadaqah. She prayed that Yaya would get his education and find an
occupation where he could use his sharp mind and very able hands. Kadiatou had
many doubts about her prayer being answered, but she remained faithful,
clutching that thin bit of hope to her heart.
Yaya himself
dared not hope. But then an incredible set of circumstances unfolded around
him. Nick Veltjens, who worked with orthopedic patients, saw Yaya at the
patient screening location the day before consultations began. “I waited all
screening day for Yaya to come because I thought we could help him. We didn’t
see him that day, so I sent an email around asking if anyone knew where he
was.”
According to
Yaya, “I did go to the screening with my friend, but I lost my courage.” Yaya
left without being examined.
The next day,
Dan Bergman, a long-term hospital volunteer, came to Nick with a video of a
possible orthopedic patient that he had just seen outside the Mercy Ships
Dental Clinic. According to Nick, “What a coincidence that Dan found the same
little guy that I was looking for!”
For Dan, this
series of events said loud and clear that, “God wanted Yaya to find Mercy
Ships. He kept putting him in front of us!” Dan tracked Yaya down at the Mosque
and delivered the news that he had an appointment at the hospital ship.
But Yaya missed
his appointment. As he says, “I did not believe I could be healed, and so I did
not want to tell my grandmother to bring me. She would be too disappointed.”
But another divine coincidence occurred that finally put Yaya and Mercy Ships
together. A government official, Cellou, who had befriended Yaya at the Mosque,
was at the Mercy Ships Dental Clinic that same week. He casually asked what a
young boy with deformed legs needed to do to get an appointment. It was quickly
realized that the boy in question was Yaya and that he just needed someone to
bring him to his appointment.
Cellou
immediately went to Yaya’s grandmother with the news about Yaya’s appointment.
They agreed that Cellou would go to the hospital ship with the boy. When
Kadiatou received the telephone call from Cellou telling her that Yaya was accepted
for surgery, she experienced a mixture of emotions. “I was so grateful that
Yaya could be helped. It was all that I had prayed for. But I was also very
uncertain and afraid. I wondered how it would be possible to fix Yaya’s legs
and what he would go through.”
Dr. Frank
Haydon, volunteer orthopedic surgeon, was able to fix Yaya’s legs. According to
Dr. Frank, “The condition that Yaya was born with caused his bones to be very
brittle. As he started to walk, the pressure on the bones caused multiple fractures.
The surgery he had aligned his leg bones properly, and the two rods I installed
will give his legs the needed strength and structure so he can walk.”
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Yaya’s warm heart and precocious nature have earned him many
friends in the Mercy Ships hospital. The kind hearts embracing Yaya have
encouraged him to practice his reading, his exercises and to learn some
English.
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Each day Yaya
does grow stronger. He is starting to take his own steps with the help of a
walker, and he has progressed to simple below-the-knee leg casts. But at the
same time, each day wears on Kadiatou. She shows the strain of being away from
family and being indebted to more and more neighbors. She has borrowed money
from them for food and malaria medication. However, regardless of the hardship,
Kadiatou’s commitment to see Yaya through his healing journey is unwavering. “I
would endure anything so Yaya can do what he longs to do more than anything
else – play football. By suffering for Yaya and my family now, I know that
there will be great happiness in the future,” she says.
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Immediately following surgery, Yaya was given a body cast to
support his newly aligned bones as they strengthened around the rods placed to
provide permanent support. Yaya displayed much courage and bravery throughout
his surgery and the regular physiotherapy sessions. His grandmother was always
at his side to comfort and encourage him.
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When Yaya’s body cast was replaced with leg casts, he was
able to see his now straight legs for the first time. While Yaya, at first, did
not dare to hope that he could be healed, he is now full of hope to play
football and return to school to learn to read and write.
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According to his
uncle, Yaya’s journey to hope and healing is summed up in a few words: “Yaya is
so loved by everyone on Mercy Ships.” And, still, even with so many kind hearts
embracing Yaya, there is one who continues to occupy the most special place in
his heart. As clear as a bell, Yaya declares, “I love my Grandmother so much!
She has done everything for me.”
Written by Joanne Thibault
Edited by Nancy Predaina
Photos by Debra Bell and Michelle Murrey
Ok so here is my little add on...
Yaya's Progress report... Yaya continues to steal my heart away...
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| Yaya has been with us for so long we decided to make him an honorary rehab team member (even when he had his Spica cast on) |
It has been so great seeing his whole journey...
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| This was the first moment he saw his new straight legs |
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| Yaya learning to walk on his new legs |
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| Yaya standing on his own (up tall) |
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| Yaya and his favorite mode of locomotion |
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| At last the casts come off |
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| Yaya having fun with Dr. Frank in rehab |
And now
... Yaya is finally out of casts, walking without any crutches and without any assistance...
Praise God for He is Good...
So what's next???
More days on the ship treating a lot of other kids with stories just like Yaya...
God is Good,
and it is so great to see His love in action...
