Hadija is a 14-year-old fourth grade student from Tanzania who started school late due to her condition. Her father works as a small-scale farmer, and he provides for their family’s basic needs through farming.
When she was five years old, Hadija had intense malaria, which was managed. Over time, her parents eventually noticed that her leg was twisted slightly inward and that she had trouble walking. However, her parents could not take her to a health center due to financial constraints. They instead massaged her foot daily, but this unfortunately did not help, and her leg progressively worsened. A few years after joining school, a teacher noticed her leg and directed her parents to a hospital for care. Hadija was diagnosed with clubfoot of her left foot. Clubfoot is a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and even wearing shoes.
Fortunately, Hadija and her parents traveled to visit our medical partner’s care center, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre. There, surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on August 12th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $935 to fund Hadija’s surgery. After treatment, she will be able to continue with her studies and walk without straining.
Her mother says, “We had given up on treatment, but we now have hope that Hadija is going to get better.”