One4Another International

Ian is not the sort of kid who was going to let a leg fracture steal his smile!

This photo was taken mid-treatment after he was brought in by his worried parents following a fractured left femur while playing football with friends. Ian's leg was aligned and casted, and a many weeks later he was discharged with a fully healed bone.

We're celebrating another great outcome!

Julius has gone from having bilateral knock knees to straight and anatomically correct legs. In addition to being more physically functional, the teen boy's self-confidence has significantly improved.

What motivates you to serve with O4A as a Village Resource volunteer?

“I have seen families whose children are born with deformities and who are able to receive treatment because their parents can afford the cost of surgery. But when I see poor families in villages who struggle even to afford food, who live in very difficult conditions, and who cannot even afford transportation to a hospital, my heart is deeply touched. It is especially painful when such families have children born with conditions that can be treated through surgery, but they have no means to seek help.

For me, this is about equality in our communities. A child should not miss the opportunity to receive life-changing treatment simply because their parents are poor. If those who can afford treatment can receive surgery, I believe those who cannot afford it should also have an opportunity to receive the same care.

Seeing a child receive treatment, regain hope, and watching the joy return to the family gives me great satisfaction."

| Charles

To learn more about this amazing group of people, check out:
https://one4anotherintl.ca/about-us/

Ashiraf's parents are known as peasant farmers in Uganda. This means that they have a little garden of which they sell produce in order to support their family of 6. This small income, barely enough to feed their children, was never enough to treat the severe bone infection Ashiraf developed on his right arm.

A year ago, while playing with friends, Ashiraf fell and fractured his right ulna. After attempting to have him treated at a local hospital, though unsuccessfully, the fracture turned into a bone infection.

By the time they arrived at our center Ashiraf had a swollen and painful arm with an exposed and eroded bone. He was immediately treated with a sequestrectomy, and after some time, wound care, and antibiotics, has made a full recovery that most definitely deserves a scrunched-up-nose smile!

We will be keeping in touch with the family and Ashiraf to determine if he will need a bone transplant in the future... but for now he is happy to have the use of his arm once again.

What motivates you to serve with O4A as a Village Resource volunteer?

"For me, this work is a calling from God. Not everyone can do it because it requires compassion, commitment, and a willingness to act. There are many children with deformities living in our communities, and some people may see them but simply look on without doing anything. They may never take the initiative to find out what the child needs, call for help, or connect the family to an organization that can support them.

God has given us the heart to notice these children, to care about their situations, and to take the next step to find help for them. This position is an opportunity and a responsibility that God has given us. It is more than just a job it is a service to humanity and, ultimately, a service to God."

| Pastor Sadik

To learn more about this amazing group of people, check out:
https://one4anotherintl.ca/about-us/

Our staff caught a sweet moment of father-daughter playtime between Scovia and her dad in between operations that was too cute not to share.

Scovia was born with an imperforate a**s and has recently completed her final surgery successfully. A**l malformations are the third most common condition we treat and when a child has imperforate a**s they require:

1. colostomy surgery in order to pass stool
2. a**l reconstruction surgery
3. colotomy closure surgery

**s

What motivates you to serve with O4A as a Village Resource volunteer?

"What motivates me to look for children with deformities is my own personal experience. I was born with two clubfeet and have never received treatment, so I understand firsthand what it means to grow up with a physical condition that can affect many areas of your life. My biological mother left me with my grandparents because she was ashamed of me and the way the community viewed my condition. I first saw my biological father when I was about four years old, and I did not meet my biological mother until I was 11 years old.

Growing up, I experienced discrimination because of my feet. There were times when society made me feel that I did not deserve certain opportunities simply because of my physical condition. Finding employment was difficult, and getting married was also a challenge. These experiences have stayed with me and have given me a deep understanding of what many children with deformities go through.

I do not want other children to go through the same struggles that I went through. I don’t want a child to grow up feeling rejected, ashamed, or less valuable because of a condition that can be treated. That is why I told myself that I would look for these children in every corner of our communities. Whenever I hear about a child with a deformity, I want to find a way to connect that child and family to help.

For me, this is more than just finding children for surgery. It is about giving them hope, dignity, confidence, and an opportunity to live a different life from the one I experienced. When I see a child receive treatment and begin to live with confidence, I feel that I am helping to change a story that could have been very difficult.”

| Teacher Simon

To learn more about this amazing group of people, check out:
https://one4anotherintl.ca/about-us/

Children in Uganda are prone to bone infections, also known as osteomyelitis. They can start from a minor injury that festers over time, and if left untreated can lead to swelling, pus discharge, foul smell, bone erosion, and potential amputation. A child with a weakened immune system and poor diet is the perfect breeding ground for such infections, as was the case for Lukaiya.

We've been working with Lukaiya since 2021, when she arrived at our center with a severely infected and exposed right tibia bone. She has endured bone debridement, sequestrectomy surgery, corrective osteotomy surgery, ex-fixator placement, along with hundreds of wound dressings, many antibiotics, and physiotherapy. Her infection has been very difficult to eradicate, and though her leg is still not 100%, it is much better.

Lukaiya's home life is challenging, and between living 3 hours away, having no one to bring her to appointments at times, and just the overall lack of supplies for maintaining a clean wound, it is not hard to understand why the infection persists.

At the moment we are managing her condition with wound dressings and antibiotics, and she now has a strong enough tibia bone to be on full weight bearing, which is great progress. She has come a long way, and we are here to ensure she achieves her full health potential, no matter how long it takes. To be continued...

Pastor Thomas is the chairperson of our Village Resource Network (VRN). This is a group of volunteers who are active in the villages of southeastern Uganda referring and following up on our patients. These Resource People (RP) not only help our parents access our services but help us work through any number of challenges that arise during the treatment process. They are truly on the front lines of our work.

Pastor Thomas, what are the challenges you face in this work?

"One of the challenges we face as RP in the villages is the difficulty in getting out to the villages. The roads are very poor and become slippery during rainy seasons. So, reaching some homes is very difficult. We are also challenged when we get parents who do not believe in the medical treatment. Some parents believe that disabilities are caused by the clan spirits or the spirits of their ancestors. It takes time for them to change their views. Some completely refuse treatment for their child. They believe that disabilities are inherited from the great ancestors and if we operate on them, the child may die or something bad will happen to the clan members. I try to engage the beliefs of the parent and show them cases where a child has been treated successfully so they can challenge their own beliefs."

What do you enjoy most about your role as a resource person?

"I enjoy seeing the smiles that I always see after the child's condition has been corrected. This makes me so happy, and I feel that I am being significant to the community. We are respected and honored as people who add great value to our communities through the service we provide to these children. On that note, we are so grateful that the organization has given us this opportunity to serve children in the communities because most of them reach out to us when they have failed to find any help and we have seen so many transformations. May God bless all involved with this work and the generosity of all those who support us. We are the ones who see the difference it makes in the lives of these children."

To learn more about this amazing group of people, check out: https://one4anotherintl.ca/about-us/

Small ➡ Big
Newborn ➡ Toddler
Crying ➡ Peaceful
Clubfeet ➡ Flat feet

We never get tired of seeing these little ones go through BIG transformations!