“Sophia is a little bit shy and soft spoken. She is the fourth born in a family of five children,” says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “She is in class four and likes Swahili and Math subjects.”
11-year-old Sophia is a girl from Tanzania who lives with unilateral clubfoot. She uses the lateral aspect of her left foot to walk, and thus is unable to walk properly. This impacts her long-term growth and puts her at risk for conditions such as osteoarthritis.
“Sophia’s mother is a small scale business woman who works very hard to sell fresh fruits at an open market in their village,” AMHF tells us. “Her father is a guard at an NGO. As much as they would love their daughter to get treatment, financially they are unable to do so.”
$1,160 will fund treatment for Sophia’s condition. This includes a three-to-four month process of manipulation, casting, and re-positioning of the foot. After the treatment is complete, Sophia will be able to walk normally, and should see no complications down the line.
Sophia is already planning for her future. “I will study hard to become a nurse,” she tells us.