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From
The Observer in Canada:
Mariatu Kamara was a 12-year-old girl in Sierra Leone when rebel soldiers cut off her hands.
She was traveling to a neighbouring village when she was attacked and raped. She barely survived.
Before reaching a hospital near the capital city of Freetown, she happened upon a man who helped her and offered her a mango. Though she struggled to eat it without hands the taste reaffirmed her desire to live.
“Even though my arms were bleeding I was determined to hold the mango myself,” she said.
Kamara spent the next three years begging on the streets of Freetown and living with extended family and friends in a camp for amputees.
At Grace United Church on June 1, Kamara, 22, spoke to a crowd of more than 100 people about her ordeal as part of a literary event featuring her book, “The Bite of the Mango,” written with journalist Susan McClelland.
Kamara, who arrived in Canada in 2002, was invited to Sarnia because of Grade 7/8 class at Sir John Moore Community School in Corunna. After reading her book in class, they were so inspired by her story they Kamara through her website, http://www.mariatufoundation.com/.
They also raised money for Kamara’s foundation, which aids women and children still suffering in aftermath of Sierra Leone’s civil war, from 1991 to 2002.
On June 1 the students presented her with a cheque for $1,500.
She was thrilled by their generosity.
“I think that’s the greatest thing you can do,” she said. “Trust me, the funds you’ve raised are going to go to a good use.”
Kamara, who attends George Brown University in Toronto, said she plans to return to her home country to help those in need after graduation.
Once, she was asked if she wants revenge for the things that were done to her. After thinking about the question, Kamara responded that revenge and hate are for the ignorant.
“Revenge gives way to more revenge and brings people to a lower level than the animals,” she said.
Education, she said, has the potential to solve many of the world’s problems since much of the evil people do is done in ignorance.
She is now an education advocate and spokesperson for UNICEF Canada, speaking about the impact of war on children.
From The Observer in Canada:
