Imagine this life: You are 11 years old, your father died and your mother has abandoned you. 

Cicile began to well up with tears and said, “If I cry, they’re tears of joy.”

Amavi and her baby sister, Kossinovi, are from a family of eight children. They share a distinctive characteristic — they were both born with a cleft lip. 

Christian is 9 years old, but he isn’t like other children his age. They can read. He cannot.

In Western Africa, women do an astounding amount of hard work. 

Alizma was quiet and downcast as she sat beside her neighbor. 

Junior, Akoko, and Gloria are three children with a few things in common — they live in Togo, West Africa, and they were all born with crossed eyes. 

After his surgery on board the Africa Mercy, 12-year-old Komi said, “Because of the way that they took care of me here, I want to take care of others."

When Soleman went to the Mercy Ship in Togo, other children giggled and played. 

Medical missionary Sarah Root was walking in Cameroon, West Africa.