“Gift is a quiet, 16-year-old girl from Tanzania,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “Gift started having seizures when she was eight years old. One afternoon, Gift started a fire and was going to boil some sweet potatoes when suddenly she started convulsing. She fell down and her blouse caught fire. She was rushed to the hospital where she was admitted for a few months.”
The burns on both of Gift’s arms caused the muscles to be deformed and she is unable to move them. If not treated, Gift’s arms will never be fully functional.
Despite her condition, Gift tries to wash some dishes and wash her own clothes. Her mother has a small charcoal business and her father works as a carpenter, but their income is not large enough to pay for Gift’s surgery.
Gift’s condition causes her to be heavily reliant on help from other people and as a result, she will not be able to properly support herself in the future.
$870 will cover contracture release surgery to remove the excess scar tissue from Gift’s elbows, restoring a fuller range of motion in both arms. It will also provide Gift with the medicine and hospital stay she needs to recover.
“I hope my daughter will be able to use her hands so that she can become more independent,” says Gift’s mother.