Nancy's Story

NANCY's "BATTLE"

About a year ago, near the end of our time in the refugee camp in Kountaya, Guinea, I was leaving to go home at the end of the day. As I left the camp I saw a little girl of about seven struggling to keep up with her small brother. She was handicapped and walked very badly and with great effort. She was in tears as she could not keep up and her brother would not slow down. I stopped to talk to her and discovered her story. She looked up at me with sad eyes and told me that her name was Nancy. She was not in school because the others laughed at her and she found it too hard to walk the distance everyday. I consoled her as best I could and told her to ask her Mother to come to see me the next day. Her Mother came and said that Nancy was born like that and there were plans originally to have surgery but unfortunately the war broke out in their district and they had to flee. The surgery never happened as a result.

They were in the Guinea for a few years and on several occasions efforts were made to have the surgery but they never materialized. I told them that we were pulling out of Guinea to go to Liberia and could not do anything at this present time but that if she came to Liberia to look us up and we would see what was possible. She was pleased. I left the camp and we, the Holy Rosary Sisters left for Liberia. Time passed and we began to establish our programs in Liberia. I forgot all about Nancy but Nancy did not forget about us.

Approximately a year later Nancy and her Mother arrived at our house.. They had been searching for us in several small towns and finally heard that we were in Voinjama. We had a great welcome for each other. Nancy’s foot was much worse and she was becoming increasingly incapacitated. We agreed to research possibilities in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. There we found a group of sisters who worked in rehabilitation and facilitated such surgery. We brought Nancy and her mother to the place and the surgery was done. The doctor told us that Nancy’s foot would not be perfect but that it would be a great improvement. She will have to undergo several operations. Nancy and her mother are so happy. At this time the first operation is completed and she is with the sisters having rehabilitation. Her mother has great hope for Nancy’s future. In the cultural context she would have experienced a great deal of discrimination and rejection. It is a testimony to the determination of one little girl and her mother to defeat the setbacks and horrors of war.