Feature Story:

To Save a Child
Embassy's Actions Save Boy's Life

Mohammed after his first surgery in Atlanta.

ast January, political officer Nick Janszen traveled from the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa to Gode in the country's Somali region to monitor an embassy-funded democracy workshop on conflict management and assess drought conditions in and around the town. What started out as a routine trip turned into a remarkable rescue.

Touring the town with Mohamed Abdi Ahmed, the director of the Ogaden Welfare Society, the nongovernmental organization sponsoring the democracy project, the officer saw dead cattle, freshly dug graves and scores of huts housing hungry people from rural areas. Abdi Ahmed took him to Gode's poorly equipped local clinic where he saw Mohammed Weli Mohammed, a 10-year- old boy with a dirty bandana covering half of his face.

Mr. Janszen learned that the boy's parents and siblings had died en route to Gode. Mohammed, meanwhile, in a weakened condition and unable to defend himself, had been attacked by a roving hyena. Villagers chased the hyena away, but not before the animal had ripped off half of Mohammed's face, including his nose and one of his eyes. Officer Janszen was shocked by what he saw: from the center of the boy's forehead to his left cheek, everything was gone.

Mr. Janszen returned to Addis Ababa the next day and recounted the tale to embassy officers at the country team meeting. Hearing of the boy's plight, consular associate Jackie Kenny immediately contacted Children's Cross, an Atlanta-based organization that brings children to the United States for emergency treatment unavailable in places like Ethiopia. After Ms. Kenny described the child's condition, Children's Cross Director Pam Rundle waived the organization's requirement for a medical assessment. A leading Atlanta surgeon, Dr. Joseph Williams, agreed to operate on the boy free of charge, and arrangements were made for the boy to be accepted at Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Scottish Rite Children's Medical Center.

While the extremely dry climate had prevented infection of the open wound, Ms. Rundle was afraid that any further delay in moving the child could result in infection. By Friday of that same week, the consular associate had a formal letter from Children's Cross agreeing to accept Mohammed for treatment. The next hurdle was transporting the boy to Addis Ababa and getting him a passport, an exit visa and a ticket to the United States.

Consul Sandra Shipshock, left, with Mohammed and consular associate Jackie Kenny in the consular section.

Ambassador Tibor Nagy and Jackie Kenny raised the issue with Sheik Mohammed Al-Amoudi, a wealthy Ethio-Saudi businessman who represents a number of U.S. firms in Ethiopia. Without hesitation, Mr. Al-Amoudi agreed to bring Mohammed to Addis Ababa on his private plane. The Ogaden Welfare Society was able to secure a ticket for Mohammed, however, on a scheduled domestic flight and the following Wednesday (Feb. 2) he arrived in the capital. Ms. Kenny worked with the local Children's Cross representative, Yonas Kebede, to obtain Mohammed's travel documents. Embassy staff made private contributions for passport, visa fees and clothing.

Since Mohammed refused to remove the bandana, a photograph was taken showing only half of his face. At first, Ethiopian immigration authorities balked and would not accept the unorthodox photos. Finally, they relented. Ambassador and Mrs. Nagy met with Mohammed when he came to the embassy for his visa interview, and Consul Sandra Shipshock proudly issued Mohammed his U.S. visa.

But Mohammed and his Ethiopian medical escort still needed tickets to the United States. Ethiopian Airlines donated Mohammed's ticket and Mr. Al-Amoudi provided the ticket for the escort.

Ms. Kenny contacted U.S. immigration officials and explained the child's sensitive medical condition, alerting them that the boy's face would be covered upon arrival in the United States. On Sunday, Feb. 6, Ms. Kenny, Consul Shipshock and Ogaden Welfare Society Director Abdi Ahmed accompanied Mohammed and the medical escort to the airport to ensure there were no problems with departure formalities.

Three days after his arrival in the United States, Mohammed underwent the first of what will be five or six surgical operations during the next year to repair his severely damaged face. Surgeons took bone from parts of Mohammed's skull to rebuild his nose and eye socket. After spending one week in intensive care, the boy was placed with a host family in Atlanta that is now seeking to adopt him. No longer wearing a covering around his head, Mohammed has begun school in the Atlanta area.

The journey from Ethiopia's remote, drought-plagued Somali region to the lush Atlanta suburbs is a long one. Mohammed Weli Mohammed never would have made that journey without the selfless intervention of Nick Janszen and Jackie Kenny, caring and compassionate Department officers who accepted the challenge of transporting a severely wounded young boy from Ethiopia's harshest region to the booming capital of the American South. It is a story of hope and generosity and that can-do spirit that represents the Foreign Service at its best.