Two Nigerian Children Receive Life-Saving Surgery in Morgantown

Samaritan's Purse
Monday, 5 November 2001

West Virginia University Hospital Teams Up with Franklin Graham's Relief Organization to Provide Medical Treatment Unavailable in Their Country

Two children from Nigeria with serious heart defects may not know the magnitude of the gift they just received, but what their families know is that on Tuesday, November 27 their children will return to their homeland with a second chance to live normal, healthy lives.

Today, one-year-old Unobunjo Blessing and 15-month-old Onojeta Oghenenevovwero are recovering from the life-saving heart surgery they received in October at West Virginia University Hospital. Released on Oct. 30 and Nov. 1, respectively, the two children were brought from Nigeria to Morgantown courtesy of Samaritan's Purse, the international Christian relief organization led by Franklin Graham, son of Rev. Billy Graham.

Both children are scheduled to leave Morgantown for their homeland on Tuesday, November 27.

Samaritan's Purse handled travel logistics for the children, their mothers, and an interpreter; paid all travel expenses; and arranged for a local family and several Morgantown-area churches to host the children during their five-week stay in West Virginia.

In their native homeland, Unobunjo and Onojeta are considered "precious children" because their mothers had tried for many years—seven years in one case, 11 in the other—to become pregnant. Both children were born with congenital heart defects that if left untreated would have been life threatening. They were the first children Samaritan's Purse brought to Morgantown from Nigeria.

Since the program started in 1997 in response to a critical need in Bosnia, Samaritan's Purse Children's Heart Project has brought more than 140 children to the United States for life-saving heart treatment. In addition to medical care, Samaritan's Purse provides state-of-the-art diagnostic equipment and training for doctors overseas. The machines enable doctors in those countries to better diagnose defects, identify candidates for surgery, and ensure that the children are matched with the proper specialists in the U.S.

For more information, or to contact Samaritan's Purse, see their website at: www.samaritanspurse.org