Deacon Leo and I arrived at MENPS in Umuagwu to visit the Masters1 and check in on the Messengers of Justice (MOJ). Sr. Ann Okweji MOJ, the school matron, set up a table and chairs in the Compassionate Home courtyard for us to recline after our arrival.
In the spirit of Igbo hospitality, we were treated to a wonderful welcoming ceremony organized by the MOJs and performed by the Masters. A double line of children marched toward us, stepping to the right then the left in a swaying motion, while singing a traditional song.
A young girl at the front of the line was limping badly, her right leg atrophied below the knee and her foot turned almost 90 degrees inward. While she was singing and smiling, I could tell she was making an extra effort to entertain us as her guests.
After the dance, Sr. Ann introduced me to Blessing, a 15-year old JS-1 student. “How did you get to MENPS?”, I asked. “My poor farming parents were separated and could no longer provide for all of us. My mother brought me here and the MOJs took me in”, Blessing replied.
“How do you like it here?”, I followed up. “I love living at the Compassionate Home and being a MENPS student”, she said smiling. “I’m being formed academically and spiritually and learning to overcome social anxiety due to my leg condition!” Indeed Blessing’s wonderful dance performance proved she was not overly self-conscious due to her leg!
After meeting Blessing, Leo and I retired to the parlor to get out of the hot sun. He had spoken with Dr. Jane Frances Okonkwo of nearby Holy Rosary Hospital, who diagnosed Blessing with Post-Polio Clubbed Foot. She never received the vaccine for polio, which struck her young and caused the deformity of her leg and foot by the time she was only four years old!
I lamented for Blessing to have borne this condition for the last 11 years of her young life. Her description of “social anxiety” sounded bad. It must have felt even worse. “Can anything be done?”, I asked Leo. “Dr. Okonkwo said a procedure called triple arthrodesis will relieve the pain, improve the stability, and correct the deformity of the foot”, he answered.
Leo and I once encountered a distressed widow named Ijioma in a village called Ekwe. Her children were malnourished and she wore a blank, hopeless facial expression. It grieves me to this day we had nothing to give that would have lifted Ijioma’s cross even if for a moment.
What we couldn’t do for Ijioma, we MUST do for Blessing. And so I turn to you, faithful supporters of HEAL, with an open hand on her behalf. Triple arthrodesis surgery will cost $8,000 and the prognosis is good. “Doctors say she will be able to walk properly and even dance without pain”, Leo said. Yes, when Blessing danced for us, she was in pain.
May we who make up the family of HEAL, empty ourselves like Christ (Phil. 2:6–11) and give Blessing the great blessing she needs right now!