healing changes everything
A photo essay from CURE Zambia.
Meet the Machinko family - Mr. and Mrs. Machinko and their twin sons, Tom and Tim. Mr. Machinko is a landscape contractor that works on the CURE Zambia grounds. He is passionate about doing a good job to keep the hospital looking its best. He is even more passionate about telling people how CURE Zambia transformed the lives of his sons.
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Join CUREkidsHaoua has been at the hospital for a few weeks. She came with her mom, Hadiza, and her little brother, Ganiou. She came to the hospital because she had a big tumor on her leg, and she has had it since she was 5 years old. She is 11 years old now.
Abaynesh Before and After Surgery at CURE Ethiopia
Abanynesh suffered from a severely crippling condition called knock knees. She lived a life of isolation, never leaving the walls of her hut. When she was 10 years old, Abaynesh’s mother told her that her crooked legs were a curse from evil spirits.
“They called me ‘the crippled one.’ Everyone in my village made fun of me. My knees crossed each other like this.”
Abaynesh’s mother gave her away to another family to cook and clean. Horribly neglected by the family she was placed with, Abaynesh was given little food and was forced to search outside for scraps. When her mother found out, she took her to another village, hoping she would be treated better.
“I never thought I would be able to get a job to support myself, because I was only able to sit down and do the simplest of work.”
As her time inside the house increased, Abaynesh lost hope she would ever look or feel normal. She feared that she would be cursed this way forever.
“I prayed and promised God that I would devote myself to Him if He healed my legs.”
That healing came through CURE Ethiopia in November 2010. After a long and painful recovery Abaynesh’s results are dramatic and her life has been drastically changed. Abaynesh now earns a living working for a different family as a housemaid where she cooks and cleans.
“With my straight legs, now I can walk to the market. Without CURE, I would still be hidden away inside the walls of my hut.”
The changes to Abaynesh’s legs were dramatic, but even more so is the change in her now smiling face. Abaynesh is filled with joy and she has hope for her future. Thanks to CURE, children like Abaynesh are constantly being given a second chance at life. A second chance for which Abaynesh says she is eternally grateful.
Recently on Kenyan television, this report was filed regarding the story of 3-year-old Milan Ochieng, a boy from Kenya whose father works for a telecommunications company in that country. Today, Milan is healthy and happy, but as an infant, his life was threatened by hydrocephalus.
His family crossed the border into Uganda to pursue the specialized treatment that CURE Uganda and the CURE Hydrocephalus program provide. For those who have never seen African television or who are interested in this issue, it’s a real treat to have this available on YouTube.
Kasahun, before surgery
Kasahun is 38 years old. It didn’t occur to me until later that he is younger than I am. He looked so much older and just plain worn out. You may remember his photo from a few weeks ago – before he had his tumor taken out. He had the largest tumor of the ones that came a few weeks ago; actually, it turned out to be two different tumors, one from his mandible (jaw) and another from his maxilla (cheek bone.)
Kasahun was born and raised in Gondar, Ethiopia. (Yes, very similar in name to a kingdom in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, a series not for the faint of heart when it comes to reading, like some friends of mine…) It is in the northern part of Ethiopia and has a rich history. Gondar has ancient castles from days when it was an imperial capital. Read the rest of this entry »
We heard a story at chapel this morning at CURE from our spiritual director, Mesfin. He traveled last week to the village of Shone, 375 km south of Addis. He and other CURE staff were invited to the village to have a thanksgiving celebration for the healing of a girl in the village. Her name is Hanna. This is what Hanna’s father shared on a shaky, home-made video that Mesfin shot. Mesfin translated these words for us from the video: Read the rest of this entry »
The Banda family: Jonathan, David, and their proud father.
Brothers Jonathan and David sharing a laugh outside of Beit CURE Hospital in Zambia. The boys now have a new sense of joy and confidence after their surgery at CURE.
Blood runs deep. There is an unseen connection between brothers. Even though you may not have similar interests, you still have a strong bond. But what if you not only grew up with someone with that blood connection, but you also shared something no one else you know shared: the same disability. One that was obvious to anyone who saw you. One that made you want to stay in your house and not go out. One that your classmates made fun of you for. One that, in your father’s own words, made you “laughingstocks” of the entire town.
This was Jonathan and David’s daily life.
One of the great joys of my job is not just that I make a living telling stories (which by nature I’m hard-wired to do), but within those stories I get to see chapters that not everyone else does. Sometimes, those “bonus” chapters are so good I need to go back and rewrite the entire novel.
This is what I did with Jonathan and David.
I first became aware of these two boys when my media intern extraordinaire, Stiv Twigg, sent me some videotape of their story from his time in Zambia. I immediately set to work making a video about them; they had such joy and charisma, and the father seemed so thankful. Stiv shot some great footage of them in their home doing an interview and outside their home doing karate and other fun boy stuff. Read the rest of this entry »
We had a successful week at CURE Ethiopia. The team of plastic and maxillofacial surgeons from Europe were able to operate every day that they were here. They were able to cure five patients with large head and neck tumors. Each surgery took approximately 12 hours. All five patients are recovering well in our intensive care unit. Please pray for their continued healing.
I am going to briefly describe the surgery and show you before and after photos so that you can get an idea of what each surgery entailed.
This is Mohammed. He has an ameloblastoma involving his jaw. Read the rest of this entry »
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