At five years old, Hawa’s life was being threatened by a tumour that left her struggling to eat and breathe.
Then in 2005, her father heard about international charity Mercy Ships bringing a hospital ship to Sierra Leone where she could access free surgery.
Her surgery in 2005 was carried out on hospital ship the Anastasis, which was a converted passenger liner that had three operating theatres and was retired in 2007.
At the end of August, Hawa met with the longstanding volunteer nurse Rachel Greenland while visiting the charity’s first purpose-built hospital ship – the state-of-the-art Global Mercy. After Hawa’s surgery, she decided to become a nurse like Rachel and the other nurses who helped her.
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