In February 2014, a 12-year-old girl called Nina (not her real name) from the Democratic Republic of Congo was admitted to hospital with a very painful and swollen leg. Two weeks prior, she had cut her foot stepping on a discarded tin can. Over the next few days Nina’s condition worsened. She had every sign of sepsis and impending death. The decision was made, with her family’s consent, to amputate Nina’s right leg. One can only imagine how devastating this was for Nina, a bright young girl who loved school.
During the next couple of weeks her physical condition improved enormously, but it looked as though her education would come to an end as she could no longer walk the distance to school.
Accomplish was approached to fund a prosthetic limb for Nina, and it was recommended that this be delayed until she was 15 so that the prosthetic would last her for longer.
In the meantime, Accomplish decided to support Nina’s continuing education at a very good Catholic boarding school closer to her home. This has continued and Nina has flourished. She has been very successful at school and has now been fitted with a prosthetic limb. She has future hopes of going to university.
Nina's letters to Accomplish have become gradually more positive. Thankfully she longer sees herself as a burden but as a young woman seizing the opportunity to make the most of her life and talents.