Story of Tera
Tera comes from a small fishing village in the southeast of Madagascar. His childhood was shaped by a tragic household accident. Thanks to surgery on board the Africa Mercy, Tera has regained not only his mobility but also his place in the community.
Although Tera was too young to remember the accident himself, he knows the story well. “My mother went to the toilet, and I was crawling around… I knocked over the pot. The hot water spilled over me, and that’s how I got burned,” he recalls. The boiling water caused severe burns to his legs. Since his family had no means to reach a hospital, his wounds healed without medical treatment.
South African plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Tertius Venter, who volunteers with Mercy Ships, explains: “A burn is often not very deep at first, but it can become infected, the skin deteriorates, and the condition worsens. The body heals by contracting the surrounding tissue – this creates contractures. That’s what happened between his foot and ankle, which limited his movement.”
For 13 years, Tera had to walk barefoot because he couldn’t wear shoes. “I love playing football, but the kids in my neighborhood didn’t really like me. I saw my friends playing and wanted to join them,” he says. “I made myself a ball out of plastic, but they still left me out because I couldn’t play properly. Then I went home crying – very sad.”
His mother, Marie, suffered deeply, unable to ease her son’s pain. When Mercy Ships volunteers told her about the opportunity for a free surgery on a hospital ship, she didn’t hesitate to make the two-day journey to the Africa Mercy.
Tera’s father is confident he can now teach his son how to fish. “Today we go fishing – I put him at the front of the canoe, tomorrow again, and in three or four days he’ll be able to go by himself. He learns quickly,” he says proudly.
Tera himself feels the change: “I’m happy because my friends don’t make fun of me anymore. Now we all play together. Whatever they do, I can do too,” he says with a smile.
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Story of Tera
Teras childhood was shaped by a tragic household accident. Thanks to surgery on board, Tera has regained not only his mobility but also his place in the community.
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