Meet Loishooki, a 17-year-old student from Tanzania. He is the second born of six children and lives with his family on their small-scale maize and bean farm. Loishooki loves to study Swahili and math in school, and play soccer with his classmates and siblings in his free time.
“I dream of becoming a university professor later on in the future,” he tells our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Loishooki told AMHF that he hopes he did well on his exams last month so that his dream can be realized.
First, however, he will need treatment for the condition he was born with called genu valgus, which causes his knees to knock into one another when he walks.
Although Loishooki is active and studious, it is difficult for him to walk easily due to the condition genu valgus, which causes his knees to knock together when he walks. Loishooki has had this condition since birth. “Loishooki’s bones started getting weak when he was seven years old,” AMHF shares. “That leads to the inward bending of his right leg causing the knees to knock each other when walking.”
Loishooki’s parents sought treatment for their son for two years but could not find anything that helped him. They told AMHF that, “despite his condition, Loishooki resumed school when he was strong enough to walk again.” The family is eager for Loishooki to receive the surgery he needs.
For $940, Loishooki will undergo an operation to have the bones in his leg surgically reset so that they are properly aligned. This procedure will ensure that Loishooki can walk, run, and move with ease and without the trouble of having his legs hit one another.