Yaom Sani from Hote village in Salamaua, Morobe Province, has been living with a lump the size of a softball ball on her right shoulder since 2020.
The brave four-year-old girl also lost her mother, Tenet, in 2020 and has been under the care of her grandfather, Sani Matayan, since then.
Since April 2023 when Yaom’s plea for medical assistance was circulated on social media, her touching story caught a lot of people’s attention, including that of Manolos Aviation’s Chief Executive Officer Jurgen Ruh.
Ruh requested his MAMA Foundation medevac team to assist Yaom at Angau Hospital and Lae International Hospital after reports were published in the Post Courier.
“I took Yaom to Angau Hospital for check up and tests, and then to Lae International Hospital for CT Scan, which was done and paid for by Manolos. I took her back to Angau Hospital with all her findings, and she was referred to Port Moresby General Hospital,” Medevac Nurse Sr Naomi Pamaraka recalls.
Due to the cost of travel and medical expense in Port Moresby, the immediate guardian, Sani, opt to take Yaom and head back to the village, with hopes that someone will further assist.
Thanks to so many people behind the scene who assisted, Yaom was scheduled for a surgery at Mt Hagen General Hospital.
Yaom was picked up by MAMA Foundation at Hote Village on November 5, 2023, and brought to Lae. On board was Deputy Prime Minister and Lae MP John Rosso, who wanted to assist. He gave K2,000 to Sani to assist Yaom.
Yaom was able to fly to Mt Hagen on November 6, 2023, with support from Morobe Governor Luther Wenge, who personally handed her over to the Chief Surgeon Dr Benjamin Yapo and CEO of Mt Hagen Provincial Hospital, Jane Holden, at Kagamuga Airport.
According to Dr Yapo, Yaom’s surgery on November 9 was a success; “the surgery went so well that I was surprised that I was able to dissect far enough on both ends to remove the complete mass without leaving any part behind.”
Yaom returned to her village on November 20th, the same day she was picked up and brought to Lae from Kagamuga Airport.
She finally received the medical treatment and operation she needed, and it was because of a group of people and organizations that came together and made it happen.
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