What is very real for others might not be for you!
by Mavonirina Velev
(Cape Town)
Mavonirina ("Ninie")
Hi Everyone,
I have a story that I want to share with you all. I am from Madagascar and in my country we believe a lot in healers and spirit.
My dad used to heal burnt people and since I can remember we had people queueing every morning waiting for Dad to apply his saliva to their wounds.
From this gift my Dad got quite a number of nick names like 'fire fighter', 'antibiotic, etc.' He was known by doctors in the hospital who worked with him.
The doctors prescribed antibiotics or pills that the patient should take depending of the severity of the wound but my dad took full care of the wound.
There is a story about a baby girl of 4 months that I will never forget. She got burnt so badly that she looked like a well-done grilled chicken. The burn was so deep that my dad told the mother to go see a priest and baptise her and pray because from what we saw the baby should not be alive.
Amazingly, about a week later, new skin started to grow and the baby got better and better and finally got healed.
From that experience I learnt that kids and babies have angels watching over them. And the job of parents is to believe in that and never give up on their little ones, no matter how bad the situation appears.
I started to heal burnt people since I was 8 and seing them crying and complaining gave me a lot of pain inside but my love for them and my work kept me going. And the best part is seeing them bringing you a present of a bag of leitchi from the farm or a live chicken to show their gratitude.
I never question this gift my family has and when people ask, I say we are just told it is a gift.
My dad passed away 3 years ago and this is how I remember him. I burried him with honor and pride because that is how I remember him.
Since I arrived in South Africa I have not practiced this form of healing but my sister still does back in Madagascar.
I am not trying to convice you to believe in my story but rather to remember, always, that what is unbelievable for you might be very real for others, so keep an open mind and you will see that this world has a lot of 'magic' to offer - and so do you!
I hope that I have inspired you. Thank you for reading!
Mavonirina Velev.