She Needed a Miracle for Her Daughters. CURE Stepped In.

Stories | 12 May 2024

Hajo, like so many parents, has dreams for her children.

Her dreams are simple, reasonable, and relatable. She told us she wants to see her daughters grow up and achieve everything they want to do in life.

Her girls have their own dreams. The youngest, Meriyem, boldly chimed in, “I want to be a doctor!” Fatuma, the oldest who loves soccer, said she “is still figuring it out.” (Who can’t relate to that?)

But when CURE first met Hajo and her daughters, they had long ago given up on these dreams.

A Dream Interrupted by Disability

When the girls were young, Meriyem developed knock knees and Fatuma developed bowed legs. These life-limiting conditions made it hard for them to walk, drew ridicule from their rural Ethiopian community, and interrupted Hajo’s dreams. Without treatment, these conditions continued to grow more severe.

“I used to be so worried about my children, thinking they will never get a chance to walk or go to school or get married. In our village, life is hard if you have a disability,” Hajo said.

Though she lacked resources and access to quality medical care, Hajo reached out to several doctors and hospitals. Each one turned her away, until she brought her girls to Hawassa Referral Hospital.

Though the hospital in Hawassa is almost 200 miles away from CURE Ethiopia in Addis Ababa, CURE partners with Hawassa to train their doctors. So, when Hajo showed up with her girls, the medical team at Hawassa knew just where to send them.

A Mom Who Moved Mountains 

When Hajo learned that CURE Ethiopia could treat Meriyem and Fatuma at no cost to their family, she moved mountains to make the two-day journey to get there. She sold land to afford the trip, carried her girls along the way, and arrived after dark in a big city where she didn’t speak the local Amharic language. A Good Samaritan stepped in to provide Hajo and her girls a place to sleep for the night, and the next day they made it to CURE.

Immediately, Hajo’s burden began to lift.

Hajo noticed right away that there was something different about this hospital. She and her girls felt welcomed. This was a relief after being shunned by their family and excluded from their community because of the girls’ disabilities. At CURE, they received a meal, were treated with dignity, and a member of the counseling team spoke with them in their local Oromo language. The girls were admitted and booked for surgery the very next day.

They could not have predicted that CURE would become like a second home for them—one that would change them forever.

A Physical Transformation

Over the course of two years, CURE’s skilled surgical team worked diligently to straighten the girls’ legs. Meriyem underwent four surgeries, and Fatuma three. Even while still in casts, the girls were delighted by how straight their legs were.

“If I didn’t get these operations, I would have had to stay home forever and ever because walking always hurt,” Meriyem shared. “I couldn’t continue my school, and I couldn’t go outside to play with my friends.”

Between the surgeries, CURE provided them with physical therapy and assistive devices like wheelchairs and walkers they needed to aid in their recovery. Over the months the girls spent healing in the long-term ward, CURE’s staff was able to build relationships with Hajo and her daughters. As their bodies healed, their hearts began to transform.

In the playroom, Meriyem and Fatuma were invited to play with other children—something they had never experienced before. And they loved it when CURE’s ministry team shared Bible stories and taught them songs about Jesus, whose name they had never heard before in their mostly Muslim community.

“People testify that this is a different place,” says Mesfin Taye, Director of Counseling at CURE Ethiopia. “The presence of Jesus can be felt here through the love and commitment of the people who work here. God shines through the nurses, the doctors.”

A Life-Changing Dream

At CURE, just as Hajo’s dream for her daughters was restored, she awoke one morning from a dream of her own that changed everything for her life.

Mesfin recalls, “Hajo told us she dreamt a man was walking with her and told her, ‘Don’t cry . . . I have brought you this far. I am peace. I am life.’ When Hajo asked him who he was, he told her, ‘I am Jesus.’”

Through tears, Hajo shared her dream with Chaltu, one of CURE’s counselors, who listened and prayed with her. Hajo and her daughters put their faith in Jesus that day.

Because CURE partners with local churches and Christian leaders, Mesfin was able to connect Hajo and her daughters with a group of new believers in their community so they can continue to grow in Christ.

Today, everything is different for them.

“I praise God for my children’s progress. The children who used to make fun of them now hug them,” Hajo told us.

“We did not just heal physically by coming [to CURE], but we came to know Christ . . . There is a significant change in my life . . . Jesus was faithful to His promises. He has done all this for me.”

We are grateful for our community of supporters around the world who make it possible for Hajo, Meriyem, and Fatuma—and thousands more like them—to tangibly experience the love of Jesus at CURE.