Mary Slessor was a Scottish missionary who made every effort to stop the killing of twins in West Africa. The killing of twin babies in Nigeria was a 19th-century practice until this great woman in history went to great lengths to stop the unnecessary cultural belief.
I am very interested in this woman's legacy because I am a twin and, secondly, because of her great attributes in person.
The traditional culture in Nigeria then believed that twin babies were evil, and so any woman who gave birth to twin babies would leave the babies in the bush to die; she wouldn't bring the baby home, and she herself would be banished from the community.
Research shows that through the intercession of Mary Slessor, hundreds of twins were saved in Nigeria starting in the year 1885. Now, I wasn't born then, but I recalled how my dad sat my twin brother and myself down and told us this story of killing twin babies and how we may have been abandoned to the bush to die because the culture believes we are evil. All thanks to this great woman who took this challenge upon herself to intervene for Nigerians.
After my university level, I traveled to Calabar; this is a state where Mary Slessor stayed for years while on her mission in Nigeria. One of the days I was in Calabar, my uncle and I drove past Mary Slessor's statue, and he stopped the car and asked me to admire the great woman who, through her intervention, stopped the killing of twin babies in Nigeria. He went further to ask me to imagine how I wouldn't have existed on this earth if not for her intervention. I couldn't stop admiring her courage. A lot of things ran through my mind immediately, and all I said was thank you, Jesus, for saving my life, and thank you, beautiful Mary Slessor. I didn't know hive then, and I would have done well to capture her statue.
This woman was known for protecting the rights and well-being of children and women while in Calabar, Nigeria. Considering the old culture being practiced then, it was obvious she took a risk, but at last,her efforts became a lasting memory to this day. She made every effort to change cultural beliefs about twin babies.
What a greater impact would she have made in my life than saving my precious life ahead of my existence? That aside, her character was worthy of emulation.
Aside from this particular good deed she did, it was also recorded that she was settling disputes among people, encouraging trade, western education, evangelism, etc. After hearing about her good deeds, I was touched by the lengths to which a woman like me went about touching lives.
On this day, I am writing a tribute to this great woman in history, Mary Slessor. You are brave, resilient, kind, and a woman worthy of emulation; your sacrifice and good deeds in our world today and in West Africa will never be forgotten. You have left a good imprint for us to follow. It's had a great impact on me personally. Rest in peace wherever you are, great woman!
This is my entry to #dreemport challenge week 3 in collaboration with #Hivememorial forest community. Thank you 
