Aduol Mou is a cleaner on staff at New Life Ministry, our partners along the border of Darfur.
Aduol is also a mother. She has six children. Three girls and three boys.
After giving birth to her youngest baby boy in late 2011, Aduol immediately knew something was wrong.
Tong was sick and there was nowhere to go for help.
Aduol prayed and prayed, seeking solutions in a country where there is little to no medical services available. Days and weeks became months—with no resolution in sight.
In 2012, she brought her then six-month-old son Tong to a medical clinic New Life Ministry was hosting with visiting doctors and nurses—holding on to a thread of hope that her baby boy could be healed.
Sadly, all the team could do was tell Adoul news that no mother wants to hear. “We can do nothing for your baby, he requires surgery that cannot be done here.”
Tong had been born with two life-threatening medical conditions: spina bifida aperta and hydrocephalus. The former is a birth defect in which a baby’s spinal cord fails to develop properly and when born—in Tong’s case—results in protruding spinal cord tissue. The latter is caused by build-up of fluid in the cavities deep within the brain and is characterized by head enlargement in infants.
Poor Tong was in pain and suffering.
James Lual Atak, the executive director at New Life Ministry, immediately asked Aduol to return home and discuss with her husband about the possibility of travelling abroad for treatment of Tong.
Plans were arranged. Emergency funds from ministry partners were secured. A place at Bethany Kids Hospital, a missionary hospital in Kenya, was chosen and Aduol and Tong soon travelled by air to Nairobi to stay with Eugenio and Jane at the Kenya Safe House.
At Bethany Kids, Tong received world-class medical care and multiple surgeries to relieve his suffering. Yet, in the end, even the best doctors could not save Tong due to the complexities of his condition.
Aduol faced a terrible decision—subject her baby to yet another surgery, which could kill him, or take him back home to die in her arms and with his siblings all around.
Aduol went home, committing her little one into the hands of her Savior in early 2013.
It was then that things got worse.
James shared, “Her situation was really terrible. She came back to spend Tong’s last days and had to stay with family because her husband had allowed her tukel (home made out of grass roof and mud walls) to completely collapse. After she buried Tong, I found her trying to rebuild her tukel with her own hands, because her husband would not provide for her or their surviving children.”
Aduol was given some financial and food assistance to get her on her feet. Then James identified that the next right step to protect and empower Aduol and her children would be to offer her sustainable work at NLM.
When James offered Aduol employment, she beamed with joy!
Aduol shared, “I thought I had only found God’s favor through this ministry because my son was sick. I never dreamed that I would find God’s favor just because I needed help, too! After losing Tong, I thought I would be forever on my own. But, now I see, God has not forgotten me and neither has Lual Atak!”
From the ashes of broken dreams, hope rises.
Aduol is a mentor, model, and mother-figure for the 750 children protected and educated at New Life Ministry. Her resilient trust and hope in the toughest of circumstances inspires them and her community. She chooses regularly to honor God against all odds.
Eight years later, Aduol continues to serve as a cleaner at NLM’s medical clinic—a redemptive return to where her journey first began.
She ensures the rooms and surrounding area are maintained. She also shares love and courage with children who are sick as they receive medical attention.
As James recently shared, “Aduol is caring, flexible, and one of the most courageous woman that I ever worked with.”
Today, she continues to praise God for Lift Up the Vulnerable through New Life Ministry for being agents of change in the community.
Aduol’s life was on the verge of total poverty. With your support, she has the opportunity for economic empowerment and because of this she continues to thrive.
Aduol can afford food and shelter for her children. She has been equipped to stand on her own and is a changemaker transforming lives in her family and community.
It’s local heroes like these that inspire and empower the children in our network. We couldn’t do this life-saving work without them and every part of our global collective network—including you!—are needed to protect at-risk children and women from trafficking and exploitation.
Together, you and Aduol are lifting up the most vulnerable!
All this month, we’ve been honoring our local partners so you can know more about the leaders that work with James, Peter, and Ezekiel, the ones your generosity equips to love and serve those most vulnerable in our world today.
We envision a world where vulnerable children and women are empowered and, through them, war-torn communities are transformed.
Will you join us by giving monthly or make a one-time gift today? Your generosity is protecting and empowering lives at-risk of exploitation and trafficking in war-torn nations.