A recent publication released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs reported that the killing of infants with birth defects is still commonly practised in much of Northern Benin. Although awareness campaigns and other attempts to curb this disturbing phenomenon are in place, the practice continues. Sorcery, ignorance, and cultural pride are to blame.
When her aunt delivered the tiny bundle, it cried like a healthy baby should, but 19-year-old Edwige could tell by her aunt’s expression that something was wrong. When the newborn was placed in Edwige’s arms, she began to cry. “Is this the baby I gave birth to?” she asked her aunt. The child, a boy, had a bilateral cleft lip and palate. His appearance was unlike anything she had ever seen.
Despite her initial shock, Edwige’s motherly instincts took hold, and she accepted her son lovingly. She named him Odilon. For a few hours, an exhausted mother and her child slept peacefully. Then, just as quickly as Odilon had entered the world, their troubles began.
Edwige’s mother-in-law arrived and inspected young Odilon with disgust. Because of his cleft, Odilon was called evil and inhuman, and Edwige was blamed for giving birth to a demon. Edwige’s husband was told to leave her to avoid bringing shame upon the family.
The environment Edwige now found herself in was far from pleasant. Rumours were heard around the local community about Odilon, spread no doubt by her mother-in-law, who almost constantly spewed slander and judgement. When Edwige ventured out into the village, she was met by a barrage of accusatory stares, hisses, and taunts. She did her best to ignore them. “I didn't want to remember those cruel things people said,” Edwige recalled. “I cared only about my baby. God gave him to me, how could I throw him away?”
In the shadow of verbal abuse, a far more serious issue was developing. Because of his cleft, Odilon struggled to feed from his mother. Edwige turned to her mother-in-law and aunts for help, but received none. Slowly, Odilon began to starve.
Weeks passed. One day, Edwige sat in a church with her weakening son when a man happened to notice Odilon’s dire state. He told her about a ship offering free medical care in the port of Cotonou. Desperate and without options, she decided to make the eight-hour journey to the coast.
When Odilon arrived onboard the Africa Mercy he weighed a mere 5.5 pounds (2.5 kg). He was in such bad condition that the medical staff onboard the ship did not think he would last for more than a few days. But Edwige’s faith was strong, and the will of her tiny son to live was even stronger. Dr. Craig Albrecht of Canada, the Africa Mercy crew physician, became Odilon’s doctor and spent the next several weeks monitoring his health. The first step was for him to adopt a regular feeding pattern and be nursed back to full health. The ultimate goal was for Odilon to gain enough weight to be eligible for corrective surgery on his cleft lip.
The baby's recovery was erratic. Over a few days he would gain weight, only to lose it again. For Edwige, it was a stressful time. “I trust only in God. Since Odilon was born, I have trusted God to help me,” she said. “I asked God to help him with his life, for Him to give Odilon strength like He gave Jesus strength, so that Odilon will give glory to God and witness to others about the miracle God has done in his life.”
After nearly seven weeks of care and weighing 8.1 pounds (3.7 kg), Odilon was finally ready to receive surgery. Edwige was anxious about the well-being of her son as he was placed under the operating room lights, but a few hours later, when she heard her baby’s hungry cry and saw his newly formed mouth, she experienced inexpressible joy.
As he lay quietly on his bed sleeping, Odilon would suck on the new formation that was his upper lip. Because of Mercy Ships, he had undergone a miraculous transformation that brought him back from the brink of starvation and gave him a chance to live a normal life. Edwige’s joy for her son resonated with the nurses, doctors, and crew onboard the Africa Mercy, many of whom had been touched by the plight of this frail little boy.
In West Africa, particularly rural Benin, cultural mindsets and ignorance about certain medical conditions are still rigidly entrenched. Such ideas lead people to label babies like Odilon as cursed, and very often some will even attempt to completely eliminate a child’s existence through whatever means possible.
Unfortunately, two weeks after leaving the Africa Mercy to go back to his village with his mother, Odilon died. The exact cause of his death is unconfirmed; a local social worker reported that he had died of starvation. Given the troubled past Edwige had lived through in her village and the disdain that was shown toward Odilon, ignorance and fear may well have triumphed over compassion.
Odilon’s death reminds us that the need for God, demonstrated through love in action, must continue to be shown passionately and effectively in West Africa and throughout the world. Despite such tragedies, Mercy Ships perseveres and continues to bring hope and healing to the world’s forgotten poor.
“Odilon was a beautiful little baby made intentionally by God,” said Dr. Albrecht. “He makes us answer the question, ‘What value is there in a person who is not perfect?’ God has made it clear to us that He knows that none of us are perfect and that we all need His help in our weaknesses.”
Story by Richard Brock
Edwige said that since Odilon was born she had “trusted in God” to help her take care of him.
Odilon’s mother, Edwige, had hoped that her son would become a witness to others of the miracle God had done in his life.
The news of Odilon's death was quite hard for all of us nurses to take. He and his mom had been here so long and Odilon finally made it to a successful surgery after a long haul. The news we got was that the baby started losing weight again and that the mom refused hospitalization and milk supplies. However, after having his mamma here so long and watching her care for her baby we are pretty sure she is not the culprit. I know her mother in law was pushing her very strongly to get rid of the child. My guess is that others in her family and village forced the situation. I can only imagine the heartache of Edwige. This is such a tragic story that sadly Im sure happens way to frequently here in West Africa. Please lift up Edwige in your prayers. 
Four of us went to Aneho, Togo a few weekends ago so the guys could surf before one of them went back home to the UK....here are some pics from the weekend.
The Oasis hotel we stayed at. Looks abit dodgy from the outside but really pretty nice....except for the REALLY hard cement-like pillows:)
Headed to the beach in the afternoon for some surfing...
A few boys could not get enough of the surfers...they burst out into hysteric laughter everytime they crashed:)
At this point, it is nearing 1pm and most of us have to leave to get to something else planned that day. Well, at 1245 one of the pastors announces, 'and now time for Mercy Ships to present their special song'. We all looked at each other..'is he serious?', 'uh', 'what could we sing', 'uh','this is akward', 'uh'...this went on for a couple minutes until their song finished. Some members of the congregation started coming towards us and helping us up to the front. This caught us off guard, yet it is common knowledge when you go to any church event in Africa you should not be suprised if you are called upon to sing or preach a sermon on the spot. I guess they enjoy the element of suprise here. As we made our way to the front I still don't think we knew what we were going to sing. I felt kind of silly, yet at the same time was like, 'whelp', at least Im not gonig down alone.:) Thankfully one of our translators who was helping lead worship helped lead us in one of the songs that we often sing on the ward. It ended up going quite smoothly. It sure made for an interesting end to the festivities for us as we had to leave early.