“I pray for my hand to heal. I am in pain most of the time and I can’t do anything with my right hand. I want go back to school,” says Shangwe.
Meet Shangwe, a six-year-old boy from Tanzania who has a burn wound on his right arm after accidentally catching his sleeve on fire. “Shangwe’s mother covered her son’s head with a kanga which came all the way to his knees,” our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), describes. “As he was seated in the kitchen watching his mother preparing tea, he decided to help his mother push in a piece of burning wood. When Shangwe bent down to push in the piece of wood, the kanga and his sleeve caught fire. By the time he got help, he had already sustained severe burns.” If left untreated, he may develop a contracture, permanently shortening the muscles that were burned.
Shangwe is the sixth of seven children in his family. “Despite his condition, he is a happy boy,” reports AMHF. Shangwe’s parents are cattle farmers. “The little that Shangwe’s parents get from livestock keeping is not enough to cover their basic needs as well as pay for the surgery Shangwe needs,” continues AMHF.
For $780, we can fund a skin graft for Shangwe so he can return to being a happy, healthy child. “The wound on Shangwe’s arm will heal, preventing him from developing a contracture which would have hindered him from doing daily activities,” AMHF concludes.
