Mama Madie’s story:

We were sitting on the cold, hard floor of a small room during a therapy session. It was a typical session at Mwana, remarkable in its own right: Therapist Michelle speaks in English. I translate into French for Mama Madie, who translates into Munukutuba for the woman receiving counseling. She responds in Munukutuba; Madie translates to French; I translate back to English for Michelle. The process is clunky, slow and imperfect, and yet, in almost every session, we witness breakthroughs that feel nothing short of miraculous.

It was during one of these sessions that a mama brought this little boy into the room. He was exhausted from crying and fighting a fever that had left him miserable. Without breaking the thread of her sentence, Madie reached out and gathered him into her arms. Within a minute, he was sound asleep.

What I witnessed in that moment was deeper than physical comfort. In Mama Madie’s arms, this little boy found the kind of love every child is meant to know: secure, unconditional and steady. For a moment, her arms became a tangible expression of the peace of God.