A CHRISTMAS STORY
THE QUIET ENCOUNTER WITH A CHILD
in Ghana, a country in West Africa, 1998
A child tells his story:
BESIE!
(“Greetings” in the language of the Sekpele; Sekpele is the language of Fred Morleme’s tribe)
I was born in Likpe/Bakua, a small village in eastern Ghana, on 11 April 1994. Life was not easy for me at the beginning because I had a disability known as clubfoot. Both my feet were affected, and walking was a very difficult and painful process. Running was out of the question.
On 8 August 1998 we welcomed guests from Austria in our village. They had been brought there by the N.N. , who also grew up in the Likpe villages.
One of the guests from Europe noticed me and wants to help me.
This turned out to be the most important day in my life.
My parents are simple farmers and with the little they have they care well for me and my siblings – they can’t do much more. A priest, the Reverend Father Paschal Afesi, who is also from our village, therefore takes me to a hospital in Dzodze. It is St. Anthony’s Hospital. Here, we happen to meet Dr. Rompa, an orthopaedic surgeon from the Netherlands who comes to Ghana for one week twice a year to perform orthopaedic operations (in Ghana there are only about five orthopaedic surgeons for 20 million people). He makes me very hopeful and promises that he will operate during his next visit – on 21 May 1999.
I am of course also somewhat afraid. I spend some weeks in the hospital together with many other children whose condition is similar to mine. It was not all that easy for me, and my body was hurting in different places. Both my feet were in a plaster cast for a long time. My mother brought me my meals and looked after me; at night she slept in front of the hospital. These are responsibilities normally assumed by family members.
Afterwards, I spend quite a long time in the Rehabilitation Center in Nsawam, where I learn to walk and do a lot of gymnastics. My recovery is a slow process but I try hard to do everything I am told to do and feel that things are getting better day by day. I continue with my exercises. It’s unbelievable that my feet are now straight!
It is now the year 2000 – it was worthwhile. I can now walk properly and even run. I have no more pain and – just imagine – I can play football and have fun with other children!
It is 2001 – I can now also go to school and learn …..
My parents and I thank JESUS CHRIST each day for the good I experienced through this help.
THERE ARE MANY OTHER CHILDREN IN GHANA WHO ARE WAITING TO BE HELPED JUST AS I WAS HELPED.
DO YOU ALSO WANT TO HELP CHANGE A CHILD’S LIFE?
By the way: MORLEME means “THERE IS A WAY”.
And this child has most certainly shown us the way …….
Read more about our work here.
Ingrid-Maria Boehm, whose initiative made it possible to
help little Fred Morleme, saw him again later.
Read here about a very personal Christmas present
