Ngozi Fusco: the little girl who would like a little something from life

NGOZI, THE LITTLE GIRL WHO WOULD LIKE A LITTLE SOMETHING FROM LIFE

Published in Focus on Africa di Ketty Volpe, 18th April 2019

On the ground. In front of the door of Owerri Cathedral. Curled up. Naked. Malnourished. Dehydrated. A cascade of black curls on her head and two eyes that lit up the porch. That's how Ngozi found her. Four years ago. Shortly after dawn. A dawn of joy and excitement. The day of responsibility and sharing to give home and name to the foundling. She has no papers. Left there. All night. Not even a whimper. Not even a smile. In Owerri, the capital of Imo State, in southeastern Nigeria, the bishop and nuns call it Ngozi. The IMO State is one of the poorest states born from the dissolution of Biafra and now annexed to Nigeria. To the Nigerian authorities she is declared under the name Ngozi. In the Igbo language, this means blessing. Her surname will be Fusco, like Blessed Tommaso Fusco di Pagani, founder of the Order of the Sisters of Charity. It is the Bishop who takes her in his arms. Cold and frightened. She doesn't flicker an eyelid. Her eyelids, as if in a half-frame, set off the sparkle of the whites of her eyes. With the volunteers of the church, the first drops of water, then milk in small sips. Ngozi doesn't know how to drink. She's not responding.. She is silent and waves her arms like a windmill. Wave your little hands. twist your fingers. She can't stand upright. It is to them, to the sisters, that the bishop entrusts her to safe, secure lodging. Part home, part hut, part kindergarten and shelter. The Hope House orphanage, in the compound of the Sisters of the Charity of the Precious Blthood, in the village of Ngugo, an hour and a half from the capital. But Ngozi doesn't respond.She has no voice. She never says anything. Why doesn't she speak, why? Unable to understand or to reason, the nuns think. Life without life. Haggard and dull. Dull, distracted by nothing, totally estranged. The toy from Italy that they gave her she never took or even looked at.  

And she never smiled even at the children in the house. Apathetic all the time. Until last year, when Ngozi was noticed by Rosi, the daughter of Lola, the president of S.O.Solidarietá, the non-profit association (www.sosolidarieta.it and facebook) that has built a shelter for its volunteers a stone's throw away from the orphanage. Rosi, who is an attentive and dedicated volunteer, is immediately attracted to the silent,estraniated child, almost lost in the vacuum of nothingness. The little girl lives in isolation in the orphanage. They consider her incapable of affection and incapable of understanding and reasoning. She doesn't move. She doesn't walk. Maybe that's why they left her in front of the Cathedral. Like a disposable package entrusted to the good heart of those who find it. Lola's expert eye goes further. She is a gynecologist. She doesn't stop at appearances. She has insight, she controls, observes, investigates with local doctors. The participant observation turns on the field with the spotlight the desire to understand and help little Ngozi. S.O.Solidarietà starts moving.

A caress, a kiss and a hug. Cuddles, smiles, tenderness and looks. Finally a shy stammer of emotions. The little girl lets herself be hugged. Little hands relax. She responds to stimulis and attention. She likes to be pampered, says Lola, the gynaecologist who brings the world back to life. Doctors continue investigations and research. Healthy organs. Normal electroencephalogram. The otolaryngologist at the examination sentences: total bilateral lack of hearing. Ngozi is deaf but she is also dumb. Giving her hearing could change her life. S.O.Solidarietà tries to bring her to Italy. A cumbersome process that is wrapped up in the intricacies of the Italian Regions. Only a few provide treatment for non-EU foreigners. Would Ngozi be able to hear? Is it possible to intervene surgically? Who can do it and where in Italy? In the meantime, Ngozi is there. In that poor Africa, full of Italian hearts that risk their lives to give a smile and hold hands with brothers and sisters. She has begun to walk with significant improvement, says Charles, the local volunteer who collaborates with the association. You can see her in the photos. A real blessing. Like the name they gave her. Deprived of words, Ngozi now spends some of her day in the orphanage with Austin, an orphaned child living with HIV. They are very close. Austin talks to her. But Ngozi doesn't hear him. She is deaf, deaf and dumb. If she could at least hear, her life would be so much bearable.