Isabelle lives in a small village in the mountainous center in the far north of Madagascar. The surrounding harsh terrain makes the area almost inaccessible, especially during the wet season when the dirt roads become mires of red mud. The 13-year-old loves her...

Prinscio was two when he took his first steps, walking on the tops of his twisted feet. Born with bilateral club feet, he developed this curious gait to get around. He was ashamed of the way he moved, and he would declare, “Don’t talk about my feet!” to anyone who...

‘Minette was 11 years old when a small tumour started growing at the back of her head. She is one of the 4 billion people in the world who has no access to affordable safe surgery. The tumour was not uncommon, but it kept on growing because she had nowhere...

Ravette has lived her eleven years of life with a deformity known as genu recurvatum, which loosely translates as “backward-bending knee.” It is a congenital dislocation of the knee. Ravette struggled to walk, to sit in a car or chair, to climb a staircase, and even...

Haingo was born in a tropical downpour. The rising river level isolated the small Malagasy village, defeating Viviaby‘s intention to give birth in the nearest town‘s hospital. She laboured long into the night on a mat on the dirt floor of her home. When her baby...

The man trembled up our gangway and did something extraordinary . . . he changed our lives while we were changing his life. Over the next few weeks, his name was spoken across the Africa Mercy’s eight decks, thousands of tears and prayers ascended to God, and social...

Vanya was a cute and happy orthopaedic patient despite her deformity. Vanya, walks across the dock toward the gangway, holding her mother’s hand tightly, as her hair dances in the breeze. Nearby, a large, white ship sits quietly at the dock. The words AFRICA MERCY are...

I can’t imagine what it must have been like for 33 year old Pulcherie from the Republic of Congo when she gave birth to her perfect little girl, unable to gaze into her precious newborn’s eyes due to her own blindness. Laurie, one of our ophthalmic volunteers on the...

A special story by Ward Nurse, Heather Morehouse, shares the terror of a 5-year-old who changed her life! “You, Dear One, are why I am here.” When Mioty first arrived, she had a permanent scowl. Her left eye was missing and her face was distorted. She played, but very...