Save a baby's life
If you are visiting this site, you may be expecting a baby with anencephaly or you have already lost your baby.
The death of a baby is for sure the most horrible experience a parent can make.
There is nothing that can be done to heal a baby with anencephaly…
Imagine that your baby had another problem, something minor that a simple surgery could fix and give you and
your baby a normal life. But at the place where you life, such surgeries are not available or you don’t have the money to pay them.
This is reality for many people around the world.
Babies die because they don’t have access to medical care.
Imagine now a fleet of ships crewed by doctors, teachers, water engineers and agriculturalists visiting some of
the world’s poorest cities. Imagine their life-changing services – food, medical care and skills – offered free of charge…
This fleet exists! For over 30 years, the Mercy Ships fleet, crewed by volunteers
from around the world, is bringing hope and healing to hundreds of thousands of people who could never have believed it possible.
Read this story, just one among many others, about how Mercy Ships changes lives:
A new start for Odilon
When her aunt delivered the tiny bundle, it cried like a healthy baby should, but 19-year-old Edwige could
tell by her aunt’s expression that something was wrong. When the newborn was placed in Edwige's arms, she
began to cry. “Is this the baby I gave birth to?” she asked her aunt. The child, a boy, showed a disturbing
hole in the middle of his face: a bilateral cleft lip and palate…
Despite her initial shock, Edwige’s motherly instincts took hold, and she accepted her son lovingly.
She named him Odilon. For a few hours, an exhausted mother and her child slept peacefully.
Then, just as quickly as Odilon had entered the world, their troubles began. Edwige’s mother-in-law came
and inspected young Odilon with repulsion. Because of his disfigurement, she called Odilon evil and inhuman.
Edwige’s husband was told to leave her to avoid bringing shame upon the family.
Faithful to her son despite the opposition, Edwige heard of Mercy Ships and began the long and arduous
journey to the Africa Mercy docked in Cotonou, the main city, her son Odilon weighing a mere 2.5 kg.
He was in such bad condition that the medical staff onboard the ship did not think he would survive for
more than a few days. But after nearly seven weeks of feeding and care, Odilon weighing now 3.7 kg, was finally strong enough to undergo surgery.
The operation was successful. As Odilon lay quietly on his bed sleeping, he would suck on the new fleshy
formation that was his upper lip. Odilon was brought back from the brink of starvation and given him a
chance at a normal life. Once again, a miraculous transformation had happened on board the Africa Mercy!
Other children like Odilon are in need of treatment.
300$ are enough to perform a cleft lip and palate repair for a baby on the hospital ship Africa Mercy.
With 300$ you can save the life of a baby!!!
And save a mother the hardship and pain of loosing her baby.
A donation to Mercy Ships will help changing the life of a mother and her baby forever.
Learn more about Mercy Ships on their website www.mercyships.org
Last updated October 14, 2009
