When the light returns

In February 2023, a pregnant woman accompanied her father to a hospital in Djibouti City in eastern Africa, where he was scheduled to undergo cataract surgery.

The very next day brought not just one miracle, but two. As her father removed his bandages and saw the world clearly again for the first time in years, she gave birth to healthy twin boys at the same hospital.

In gratitude toward the Chinese medical team, she named her sons Charmarke and Awale — after members of the foreign aid program who had helped restore her father's sight.