“Anna is shy around people she doesn’t know, but she quickly makes friends and becomes comfortable being around strangers,” says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF).
Meet Anna, a four-year-old girl from Tanzania. She is the last born in a family of five children, and her parents work as small scale farmers, growing and selling maize and beans.
At the age of two, Anna’s legs started bending inward, causing knock-knees. Today, “Anna is unable to walk without knocking her knees, affecting her gait and the ability to walk or ran fast,” AMHF tells us. If untreated, “Anna will be at risk of developing early osteoarthritis.”
“Despite her condition, Anna likes to run around with her brother who also has the same problem,” shares AMHF. “She enjoys pulling a car made out of wire and wooden tires, competing with her brother to see who can ran faster while pulling the cars.”
Anna requires treatment that will straighten her legs through a combination of casting, surgery, and realignment. This surgery will cost $940, and will help her to “have better gait and ability to walk long distance without feeling pain on the knees.”
“My wish is for my daughter to be able to walk properly, so that when it is time to go to school she will have the ability to walk the long distance to school,” her mother shares.