Hamditu

What a brave girl this is! Hamditu was born with a physical disability, she had two extra legs at her hip. Because of this, she had never been outside because of shame. Physical abnormalities are here seen as a curse and punishment for the family, so children with a physical disability are hidden.

Hamditu’s mother died sadly when Hamditu was only 1 year old and her father ran away shortly after she was born at the sight of his disabled daughter. She grew up with her grandmother and lives in the Shalla area where we as Addis Alem work with emergency aid and church work. She was brought to us through the people there and asked if we could do something for her, she is now eight years old.

Doctors who came to Shalla offered her an operation at the hospital in Addis where they work. How exciting it was for Hamditu and her grandmother! They came with us to Debre Zeyt and was hospitalized for the surgery, which ended up taking 5 hours and being very complicated. Gerdine stayed that night and day with the grandmother in the hospital to assist her, she was very scared and she really liked that we were with her.

We were surrounded by prayer from both Ethiopia and Holland and God helped the doctors and spared her life. The operation was successful, she got meningitis after the operation but also recovered from that. After a recovery period of several weeks, she was able to go home with her grandmother! The two extra legs are gone, so she can wear normal clothes again and she doesn’t have to be ashamed of other people anymore. Her two legs are so weak that she will never be able to walk, so she will remain dependent on a wheelchair.

With a spontaneous sale from someone who met Hamditu during her visit here, the wonderful amount of $380 was raised to buy a wheelchair for Hamditu. We are currently trying to find a good wheelchair for her.