A child’s mind is too fragile and trauma prone. The story of Valerie, a girl from Benin, Western Africa, is sad but inspiring. She was only four years old when she got bowlegs, which led to severe deformity and difficulty in walking. The poor girl was so ashamed and felt under-confident because of her deformity that she begged her father to discontinue her studies.

At the tender age of four, Valerie joined her uncle’s shop, who was a tailor and learned the craft. Despite her bowlegs, she has been working as a seamstress over a decade. While she was working on her uncle’s shop, her customer told her about a hospital on the boat by the name Charity Ships.

She boarded the boat Mercy, where there were 76 other children with different deformities. She was able to get free surgery and physiotherapy that was part of a 10-month charity stint of the hospital. Needless to say, her life was changed, and there was a ray of hope in her future.

Source:SWNS -Valerie post her operation on the charity ship, Mercy

Source: SWNS

Valerie, whose full name wasn’t revealed by the Charity Ships, was able to walk normally after the surgery. She remembers her time on the boat when one of the inmates of the ship gave her an alphabet book to read. After finishing the book, she asked for another book and was determined to go back to school after the treatment.

She and her family were happy to see her walking towards the house. After the treatment and therapies, she said to her father that she wants to join the school and doesn’t want to be a seamstress rest of her life.

Bowleg is a deformity that can be caused by rickets or other skeletal problems that results in outward knee formation and inward knee bending. The surgery and post-operative care took about four months, but finally, she can live a healthy life and won’t be teased by any of her peers.