Baby Love

We get some sweet babies and young children on the ship, some patients and some come with caregivers. Each of them have their own little personalities and quirks. It is very easy to become attached to them and to give them lots of cuddles! Some of them stick around for quite awhile due to their surgery/ies or they accompany their mama's or siblings. For these little ones we are often able to celebrate milestones. I was quite excited to see Mamadou (my English student Aisha's little brother) now walking on his own, after months of furniture walking, on their visit a few weeks ago.

A little baby or toddler can lift the spirits of the nurses who are worn down by the sights, sounds and smells that assault them every day. A gummy smile from a baby can make your day and the mamas are more than happy to hand their babies your way!  It is a sign that life still goes on despite the tragedy and suffering that often accompanies the wards on the Africa Mercy. Above a gorgeous little one at the Hope Centre sporting a wreathe made during a Mercy Ministries visit.

Mamadou who will willingly go to anyone with his lovely sweet temperament.

Ortho patient George with one of his rare smiles. The wards are a scary place for kids and adults alike in West Africa where health care is very basic and certainly not located on a big white ship resting on the ocean.

Ortho patient Baindu in the rehab tent. Visible methods to explain our procedures or the equipment used are utilised as much as possible due to the inevitable language barrier. The old saying "a picture paints a 1000 words" is apt. Biandu is playing with a doll that is demonstrating the ponsetti method that helps to correct clubfeet.

Little Alseny with his cleft lip. Alseny came in with his healthy and chubby twin sister but Alsney was dangerously underweight and malnourished. Now he has had his cleft lip repaired and is nice and fat just like his sister, in fact even fatter!

Alseny gripping his mother's finger.

His tiny feet in the hands of his big sister.

Another sweet baby in the arms of nurse Melinda on deck seven.

Meet the famous "Doublemint" twins. Nicknamed after the famous Wrigley's chewing gum adds that featured a set of twins.They turned up for screening in matching green and white striped sweatshirts. Alseny and Alassane both had surgery to correct bowed legs.

How could you resit this cheeky little monkey?