Senegalese father who lives in Cardiff with his conjoined twin girls, who share one pair of legs and several organs, says it's a 'huge privilege' to raise them after being told they wouldn't survive for more than a few days

• Ibrahima Ndiaye told the BBC about bringing his daughters to the UK in 2017
• READ MORE: Touching moment conjoined twins Marieme and Ndeye are given their own coats at inclusive design facility

A father of conjoined twins has emotionally opened up about the ‘huge privilege and blessing’ of witnessing a ‘constant battle for life’ in his inspirational seven-year-old daughters every day.

Ibrahima Ndiaye candidly opened up about being a father to Marieme and Ndeye, who he brought to the UK from Senegal in 2017 when they were seven-months-old, to seek help from doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London.

The twins have separate brains, hearts and lungs but share a liver, bladder, digestive system, and three kidneys. Doctors had predicted they wouldn’t survive more than a few days after their birth.

Speaking to BBC’s new Inseparable Sisters documentary, he basked in the joy of his children defying all odds as they filmed the girls celebrating their seventh birthday, and told the programme about the challenges his family has faced.

‘To have conjoined twins as a parent you have something that you didn’t expect,’ he said.

A father of conjoined twins has emotionally opened up about the ‘huge privilege and blessing’ of witnessing a ‘constant battle for life’ in his inspirational seven-year-old daughters every day

‘Something that you never imagined. I would not pretend that it is easy. It is not. But it’s a huge privilege, a huge blessing.

‘You feel lucky to witness this constant battle for life.’

Ibrahima admitted he was shocked when hospital staff told him that he was going to be a father to conjoined twins – as he had only been expecting one baby.

‘I read about conjoined twins. But it’s just for other people. Not for you. This is not going to happen to you,’ he said. ‘You’re completely knocked down.’

His world was thrown into orbit when he was told that his new babies likely wouldn’t make it more than a few days.

‘I was preparing myself just to lose them very quickly,’ he revealed. ‘The only thing that we could do is just to be beside them and not to let them walk alone through this journey.

‘The two weeks passed, the four weeks passed. We started building hope and then we could sort of see very clearly that we’re going to deal with warriors. They hung onto life.’

Marieme and Ndeye were born in Senegal in 2016, where doctors believed their best chance of survival was separation.

Ibrahima Ndiaye candidly opened up about being a father to Marieme and Ndeye, who he brought to the UK from Senegal in 2017 when they were seven-months-old, to seek help from doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London

Speaking to BBC ‘s new Inseparable Sisters documentary, he basked in the joy of his children defying all odds as they filmed the girls celebrating their seventh birthday, and told the programme about the challenges his family has faced

The family contacted hospitals around the world – including in in Belgium, Germany, Zimbabwe, Norway, Sweden, and America – ‘begging’ for help, before opting to bring the twins to London.

Ibrahima had hoped that doctors at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London would be able to separate the girls and that they would be able to return to their brothers and sisters in Senegal.

But tests determined that Marieme’s heart was too weak for the surgery and doctors predicted she would not survive the operation.

Officials at the hospital helped Ibrahima deliberate on the options and it was ultimately decided not to separate the girls.

Opening up about the impossible position he was put in, the father said: ‘At this point its just killing one of my children for another. It’s just something I can’t do. I can’t allow myself to choose who will live, who will die.

‘I never expected one. So I had one, two three. It’s showing whatever the complexity of your task, you can make it.’

Officials at the hospital helped Ibrahima deliberate on the options and it was ultimately decided not to separate the girls

Ibrahima and his daughters have been given discretionary leave to remain in the UK so that they could continue to receive medical treatment in Britain. They now live in Cardiff.

The twins’ mother returned to Senegal and cares for their siblings.

Their father revealed in the programme that he has embraced his ‘parental responsibility’ to ensure that the girls ‘will have somebody who will be here for them’.

‘When you are told since the beginning there is no future you live for the present,’ he added. ‘I’m completely immersed in this journey.’

An emotional ending to the programme saw Ibrahima gratefully address the hospital and school staff who have supported him and his daughters on their journey.

‘You have been fighting for these girls, I witness it everyday,’ he said.

An emotional ending to the programme saw Ibrahima gratefully address the hospital and school staff who have supported him and his daughters on their journey

‘You are making life easier for me every single moment… Thank you so much for everything.’

He also told the documentary that him and his daughters are ‘lucky to be a part of this community’ and ‘couldn’t expect better’.

‘This is showing you how resilient they are,’ he added. They have achieved things that nobody ever thought they would and they’re proving everybody wrong.

‘Where it comes from, I don’t know… They’re bringing me such joy that I would never find anywhere.

‘It’s a huge blessing to be their dad.’

Ibrahima concluded by urging parents who may find themselves in a similar situation as him to ‘never give up’ – and to ‘celebrate life’.

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