Operation of Hope was donating surgeries in Africa in 2006 when they met a gentle young boy named Beloved. On that memorable day, Beloved and his family put aside their darkest fears of rejection and cautiously approached our surgical team with a whisper of hope tucked deep inside their hearts. Could Operation of Hope mend their child’s horribly distorted face?

Beloved’s family explained what had happened to Beloved. One day, when Beloved was 10 years old, the day began it’s slow exhale as the sounds of songbirds painted the air. The cadence of a typical day began for the rural village of Epworth Mission. Beloved chased friends innocently through his Grandmother’s field. Suddenly, Beloved halted to investigate a quick flash that had emitted from the grass below. Beloved knelt down and discovered a metallic object. Beloved thought he had come upon a transistor radio as he attempted to produce a signal from within this object. Beloved innocently touched the object to his mouth with hopes of better transmission.

In that moment, a landmine eliminated the lower portion of Beloved’s face.

Operation of Hope Program Director Jennifer Trubenbach recalls, “I knew at the time we could not make any promises, but something told me we could help this child. I just needed to talk with my surgical team and sort out a plan. As soon as I got back to the US, I put calls out to as many facial reconstructive specialists as I could find.” Over the next 9 months, Jennifer found a way to bring Beloved to the US for surgery as the surgery was far too complicated to be done in Zimbabwe.