Project Sekong 2013: Thank Goodness That For This Disfigured Man, Love Is Blind

The man pictured here was horribly disfigured as a consequence of a disease called Noma.  As a child he developed an infection in his mouth that eventually became gangrenous.  By the time the disease ran its course both of his cheeks had been eaten away by rampant infection.

Ninety percent of all children who develop Noma die, but this man lived.  However, after recovery he was so ashamed of his appearance that he stopped attending school and for twenty years never appeared in public without his face shrouded with a scarf.

Remarkably, an attractive young woman in the village fell in love with him.  They married and have started a family.  His wife says that she was able to see past his physical appearance because, living together in a small village, she had the opportunity know him well and see him first and foremost as a kind, generous person.

Three years ago we were able to connect this man with a visiting team of surgeons from Australia who performed reconstructive surgery on his face.  It was an involved, dangerous operation lasting many hours but he survived.  He now lives in his home village with his wife and son and no longer feels the need to hide his face.