“Oee-haaaaaa!” On the baggage cart pushed by Habiba, Marie pushes through the crowd of passengers coming and going in the Nice airport check-in hall. Pink puffer jacket, multicolored beads at the end of the braids and a wide contagious smile, the 9-year-old girl is stamping her feet. “It’s been an electric battery since last night”, has fun with his foster mother, Habiba.
“Super well recovered from his operation”
In a few hours, Marie will be reunited with her family. His mother, father and twin sister are waiting for him impatiently in Côte d’Ivoire. Her country, which she left nine weeks ago, thanks to an incredible chain of the heart guided by members of the Monaco Collectif Humanitaire (1). Which, since 2008, have enabled more than 460 children, mainly from the African continent, to be activated in Monaco for cardiac pathologies not covered in their countries.
After an operation at the Cardio-Thoracic Center at the end of November, the recovery of the little girl took place without incident. Especially since the intervention was ultimately less heavy than expected. Marie, who suffered from a heart condition called atrial septal defect (ASD), was able to be performed by thoracotomy. An intervention that did not require open-heart surgery. “She just has a scar on her left side, which shouldn’t be visible in a few years.”explains Habiba, who confirms: “She recovered very well”. Professor Sylvie di Filippo’s team has therefore given the green light: Marie can now go home.
“She’s a little attached. A ray of sunshine.”
Friday sounded the hour of departure. Not without heartache for Habiba and Philippe, who welcomed the child throughout his stay. “We are both sad and happy for her because it will be a party when she goes to find her family, entrusts Philippe, of which one guesses the knotted throat. It’s a little attached. A ray of sunshine.”
It is now up to Nadège to take over. Volunteer for Aviation sans frontières, this is his first trip as a conveyor.
A little way
“My husband, retired from Air France, has already made several trips. Since I changed jobs, I have more free time and I wanted to make myself useful”she confides.
And Habiba continues: “It’s a real chain of solidarity. It starts on site with the correspondents who are in contact with the families. Then Aviation sans frontières makes the link with us, the host families”. Which ensure daily life, medical appointments and all the events of everyday life during the children’s stay.
There are of course the doctors, the Cardio-Thoracic Center and all the donors, without the financing of these humanitarian operations being possible. To come full circle, volunteers from Aviation sans frontières are once again providing return flights.
In front of the gates of the departure lounge, a final goodbye. One last hug. And Marie’s smile disappears among the passengers. “We have come a long way in his life”summarizes Habiba.
1. The Monaco Collectif Humanitaire has 16 Monegasque NGOs and three French partner associations.
2. Two associations ensure the coordination of host families within the Monaco Collectif Humanitaire, Rencontres Africaines, which brings families together as far as Cannes and Antibes, and the Monegasque Red Cross, which has created a network of volunteer families in Monaco.