Ten-year-old Binta Barrie lies in her hospital bed onboard the Africa Mercy clicking her fingers and smiling at everyone around her. Her cheerful attitude and smiling face cause all of the patients around her to laugh.
Binta was born with bowed legs, a problem easily correctable if proper medical care can be received, but in Sierra Leone proper medical care is hard or even impossible to find. Binta’s friends and neighbors laughed at her and mocked her because of her strange legs. When this happened, Binta would walk away to be by herself. In West Africa, bowed legs are usually seen as a curse instead of a medical condition. This made her family very sad. “I was not feeling fine,” said Binta’s older sister Marie.
One day Binta’s mother heard a radio announcement about a hospital ship that might be able to help Binta. She took her daughter to a Mercy Ships medical screening at a hospital in Kabala. Binta was delighted when she was accepted for surgery. She and her sister, Marie, traveled to the Africa Mercy, and Binta received a free surgery to correct her legs.
Even though Binta’s legs are still in casts, they are beautifully straight. When Binta goes home, she hopes to continue school and spend more time with her friends. She simply says, “When I go [home], I will be happy.”
Binta’s surgery has changed her life forever. Thanks to the doctors onboard the Africa Mercy she has a bright, happy, future ahead of her – a wonderful reason to smile!
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