Little baby Sada’s life began as a perceived curse. It turned into a blessing in record time. Sada was born in Burkina Faso, West Africa, where his cleft lip and palate was considered a curse, destined to bring hardship to the village. The condition is often a death sentence.
“The options are usually the family is kicked out and has to leave the community, and that puts them in a vulnerable position to sustain themselves,” said Tim Parsley, USF Chair for the Department of Art. “Or, they go to the village elders, who take the child out and end his life or abandon him, and in many instances bury the child alive.”
Ray of Hope, a Fort Wayne not-for-profit organization run by Rebecca and Kerry Ghent, works to prevent these tragedies. Ray of Hope secures pro bono medical coverage for medically needy and endangered children, flies them to the United States and places them with host families until they return home. Parsley and his wife Flora learned of Ray of Hope through Flora’s work as a nurse in the Family Birthing Center at Parkview Regional Medical Center.
“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.” -John 1:16
Flora Parsley met Rebecca Ghent at Parkview, two years before Flora went back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree in nursing from USF. A spark of interest in the organization returned stronger when Flora saw a Ray of Hope Facebook post about Sada this past Thanksgiving. Flora and Tim felt a strong desire to help and the Parsleys applied to become a host family. It can take a year or two for a host family to be paired with a child.
“On Dec. 3, they called and said, ‘We don’t normally do this, but we think this baby needs to come to your home,’ ” Flora Parsley said. “I started crying. To think this baby was growing in our family story and our hearts, to know this is the one. And here he was on the other side of the world, God picking him to come over to Indiana.”
The Parsleys, who moved to Fort Wayne from Cincinnati in 2013, have four children: Emma, 18; Aidan 16; Finn, 14; and Evelyn (Evy), 7. The family embraced baby Sada with love. Sada was 5 pounds when he arrived and has steadily gained weight. He must be 12 pounds for his first surgery, Tim Parsley said. “It’s been wonderful,” Tim Parsley said. “We see it as caring for the least of these in the world. If it
wasn’t for this organization, and how it bridged these two parts of the world, this child could be buried in a field somewhere. Instead, he’s in our living room being held by one of our children. We’re just privileged to be a part of it.”
Sada was born a twin, which is another issue in his culture, obligating a mother to beg for a year because of the additional child, Tim Parsley said. With Sada entering the Ray of Hope program, that burden was lifted. The Parsleys send scheduled updates and photos to his family. Sada’s father recently traveled 240 miles to see the photos.
Sada, the 55th child helped by Ray of Hope, will undergo three surgeries over a period of 12 to 18 months. The cost to bring a needy child to the United States is around $7,000, with the host family supplying everyday items. Sada’s fees have been covered but people can donate to the “SadaStrong” fund through Ray of Hope, with donations directed to a future child’s funds.
“Ray of Hope and the doctors and the hospitals need to have the shine in this,” Flora Parsley said. “In my opinion, we have the easy part. We get to enjoy taking care of Sada. They’re the ones doing the hard part.”
Sada’s arrival altered plans for the Parsleys’ 7-year-old Evy and her mother to try out for the USF musical “Seussical.” Evy ultimately drew inspiration from Dr. Seuss’ lead character in “Horton Hears a Who.” “We prayed about it,” Flora said. “Evy said, ‘We need to take this baby because that’s what Horton would do. A person’s a person, no matter how small.’ ”
Evy Parsley turned and looked at baby Sada’s photo.
“Sada is like the Speck! We hear you, baby!” Evy said.