Your love healed a child’s smile… and a mother’s heart
Roseline remembers the birth of her youngest child, Armane. As she opens up, you can see how painful things have been since the very first day of his life.
Roseline gave birth in a rice field, far away from a hospital, and it had been a long labour. “I had complications during his birth – he almost didn’t make it,” she shared.
As soon as he was born, the traditional birth attendants tried to hide the baby from his mother. When Roseline finally held Armane in her arms, she kissed him and began to cry.
Armane was born with a cleft lip – a condition that had never been seen before in his village.
A battle for survival
Because Armane’s lip was split apart, this newborn baby couldn’t get enough of the milk he needed from his mother. You can only imagine how the baby cried, and how Roseline cried with him.
Every day, Roseline feared her baby’s health was slipping away too fast. “He was very weak, and we had to give him vitamins. He didn’t grow up properly. And he struggled to speak.”
Roseline turned to local doctors and nurses for medical help. But no one could provide the surgery Armane desperately needed.
“I was very worried – I always thought he wasn’t going to survive,” she said.
Mixed with her fears and anxieties, Roseline struggled with how other people talked about her baby. Their comments made her feel even more worried and alone.
“People thought he was cursed; he was not like the other kids. They even said he was not a human but an animal,” she recalled, her eyes filling with tears.
But despite everything, Roseline and her husband never lost hope. “We prayed every day – day and night – for my son to get surgery,” she said.
You make miracles happen
Thanks to gifts like yours, a miracle happened to Armane after his third birthday. The Africa Mercy sailed to Madagascar, and he could have expert surgery – for free.
At first, Armane stayed at our HOPE Centre, where he could stay and enjoy free meals to get his strength up for surgery.
Armane was supported every step of the way with nutritional support, delicate surgery to heal his cleft lip, and love and care on our hospital wards. During his recovery, Armane was also given speech therapy to help him speak with confidence.
This expert care was something his parents had only ever dreamed of.
When Armane and his caregiver returned home, so many people gathered round to cheer and catch a sight of him. People couldn’t believe their eyes. He was healed!
“Now that he has had surgery, I'm so happy – so happy!” Roseline exclaimed. “This surgery has taken my worries away.”
“His future will be better now. My son will no longer be mocked,” she said. “He will always be loved.”
Because of you, pain has turned into possibility.
You have soothed a mother’s fears and helped her to look to the future with hope.
You have shown a whole village what’s possible with access to safe surgery.
And you’ve given a bright little boy the chance to heal, go to school and enjoy a happy childhood.
If it wasn’t for kind friends like you, it’s heartbreaking to think how differently Armane’s life could have been.
In another village, there’s a child like Armane who needs your help. Without surgery, he could grow up with a cleft lip for his whole life. He might struggle to eat, go to school, and become shunned by his community.
