A Baby in the Bush

I imagine this story started out in ordinary circumstances here in an Ivorian village.  A young woman discovered she was pregnant and waited expectantly for the arrival of her new child.  After carrying the baby within her to term, she gave birth to what appeared to be a healthy baby boy.  She nursed and cared for the child as any good mother would.  However, as several days went by there was a serious problem... the child did not have a bowel movement, nor could it because it is missing an anus.  The opening seemingly closed off by an extra patch of skin.  

Overwhelmed by her child's health problem and her own poverty, she decided there was nothing she could do nor afford to help her new baby boy and she could not watch her child die.  Her only solution was to abandon the child, hopefully for someone else to care for.  The shame in openly abandoning the baby is too much to bear, so she picked a spot between two villages not far from the road, where she knew someone would likely pass by and find the child.  

Yesterday morning Delem, the uncle of my good friend Nouffou, found this baby boy in the bush 2 km outside his village, Zamaka.  The crying baby was lying on the ground completely naked in the cool morning air.  Delem removed his shirt and wrapped the child and returned to his village to see what they could do for the child.  He arrived in his courtyard to show the others what he found and to check over the infant.  It is then they first noticed the baby's physical problem.  They headed to the village chief's courtyard to explain what happened and to find a solution together.  

The chief and some of the other village elders decided to send a delegation with the child to the nearby Catholic Mission and clinic.  The sisters at the mission said they would try to care for the child, but he needed to be declared to the police first.  The delegation returned to Zamaka to inform the chief and they prepared to head to the police station in Abengourou.  

Yesterday I was in Zamaka to make my weekly visit to Nouffou and his wife Fatou's courtyard to teach.  However, everyone else from our Bible Storytelling Group was gone so we were mostly talking about life in general.  As we began reviewing the previous weeks story and previewing the stories to come, I mentioned that our next story was about the birth, discovery and childhood of Moses.  At that same moment, Nouffou saw Delem coming in the distance.  Moses' story reminded him of the day's earlier events and the news his uncle was likely bringing.  He filled me in and once Delem arrived he gave us the news from the chief.  They needed a ride to Abengourou so Delem, a lady caring for the child, the chief's messenger and I headed for Abengourou (at this time all I knew was that the child was abandoned and there was some sort of health problem... I thought they meant he was constipated).  

Madame N'Guessan

We arrived at the police station around 5:30pm and filed the report.  The police informed us we needed to go to Social Services and declare the infant there as well.  Since we work with Social Services I called to make sure someone would be there shortly after closing time since it was an emergency.  When we arrived and started the report, the folks from Zamaka mentioned the physical problem.  She took the child and examined him.  It was then that the Social Services Agent, Madame N'Guessan, and I realized the gravity of the child's situation.  We thanked the group from Zamaka for their help, shared phone numbers to stay in touch and Madame N'Guessan and I headed to the local hospital while they headed back to Zamaka.

We arrived at the hospital to see what could be done, but unfortunately the necessary operations cannot be done in Abengourou, but only are available in the commercial capital Abidjan.  There were a few things to get at the pharmacy to help the infant boy, but we had to wait until the next morning to send him to the specialist in Abidjan.  Thankfully, our teammate Christina Skelton is headed to Abidjan this morning and is able to give them a quick and smooth trip to the hospital.  

Now we continue to pray that God will bless this child and work in mighty ways.  Many will ask why this happened.  I believe it's an opportunity to show the love, grace and compassion we are called to live out in this broken world.  I myself consider it a privilege to be able to be a part in God's intervention in the life of this tiny infant boy, that some of the villagers of Zamaka decided to call "Moses".  Be praying for little Moses and his healing.  Pray too for those who are charged with his care.  Pray too for his mother who left him in the hands of God.  May all these events lead us to honor and praise God for His goodness in our lives.