Sixteen-year-old Rosalinda knows how quickly life can change.
She was only 10 years old when she lost her mother. And while grief weighed heavily on her, there was no time to dwell on it or stop. Life moved forward and she had to keep up.
Two years later, there was another shift but this time, in her own body. A small lump appeared on her neck. At first, it seemed harmless; just a bump beneath her skin. She thought it was just another part of growing up. But it didn’t go away. Instead, it stretched, shifted, and altered the reflection she saw in the mirror in ways she couldn’t ignore.
By 13, she had left school to help her father with their small clothes-selling business in their hometown of Mananara in northern Madagascar.
All the while, the tumour kept growing, becoming impossible to hide, “It’s a disease, and I don’t like it,” Rosalinda admitted. “In addition to that, it ruined my face,” she shared. The teenager started to feel self-conscious and out of place, and as the tumour affected the symmetry of her face, she withdrew into herself.
Dr. Mark Shrime, the maxillofacial surgeon from the U.S. who would later operate on her, explained how the condition could worsen over time without surgical intervention. “These tumours, if they’re left alone, will continue to grow. They could start to become threatening to her airway or her ability to eat.” Doctors in her hometown had no answers and the surgery was too expensive. So, she learned to live with it, hoping it wouldn’t get worse.
Then, in 2024, she experienced yet another loss – her father.
With nowhere else to go, she packed her belongings. She traveled to the port city of Toamasina to live with her uncle Sazulie, unaware that his medical journey would inspire hers. Her uncle and his wife, Clerine, welcomed her in. Not long after, the conversation turned to her tumour.
“There’s a hospital ship,” her uncle told her. “They do surgeries for free. I’m going there myself to have my lipoma removed.”
She hesitated. The idea of surgery unsettled her; it felt too big and too unknown. But her uncle reassured her, sharing what he had learned: “They will put me asleep, so [that] I won’t feel anything.” Later, her uncle returned from his surgery, healed, healthy, and smiling. She saw what was possible. She started to believe that there was also hope for her.
By February 2025 when the Africa Mercy® returned to Madagascar, she made her decision. She went for a screening and got an appointment for surgery.
A Leap of Faith
On March 10, 2025, after weeks of preparation, the Africa Mercy hospital began operations. Rosalinda became the first patient to receive surgery. She arrived on the ship with her aunt during admission still unsure what to expect. Priscilla Campbell, a paediatric nurse from the U.S. met them at the gangway. Campbell was also experiencing Mercy Ships for the first time as a volunteer.
“Meeting Rosalinda for the first time was so incredible,” Priscilla recalled. “We both came from such different places and got to just share a smile and share this experience together.” The morning of her surgery, crew members across the ship paused their duties for prayer, a tradition that marks the beginning of every surgical journey on board.
A Rewritten Future
Rosalinda was diagnosed with a benign submandibular gland mass, a lump or abnormal growth that develops within the submandibular gland located under the jawbone. The surgery to incise the tumour took nearly three hours and when Rosalinda woke up, the weight she had carried for years was gone.
“It was very smooth; the tumour came out without any complications at all,” explained Dr. Shrime.
Rosalinda’s face was her own again for the first time in years, no longer hidden behind a growing burden.
Dr. Shrime reflected on the impact of safe surgeries on board, “The reason that we do this is to bring hope and healing… to restore to patients their right to a seat at the table of humanity.”
Now, with her health restored, Rosalinda dares to dream again. “I would like to be a tailor,” she said, emphasising that she wants to create and build something with her own hands.
The tumour Rosalinda carried for years is gone, replaced with a new sense of purpose. Now, she steps forward, not just healed but whole.
In 2025, the crew and volunteers aboard the Africa Mercy anticipate performing up to 1,700 surgeries and dedicating hundreds of hours to educating and training local medical professionals throughout the ten-month field service in Madagascar.
Find out more about volunteering here.
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