Despite a daunting economic crisis caused by restrictive measures to combat the spread of Covid-19 in Cambodia, Humanity & Inclusion continues providing in-person and virtual rehabilitation care.  

While many regions around the globe may be seeing a drop in Covid-19 cases, Cambodia is experiencing its first wave of infections. Largely spared by the pandemic in 2020, the country began seeing a rise in positive cases in February 2021. Numbers steadily rose until May, and have remained mostly stagnant since. 

“We have hundreds of new cases a day, and now it’s spreading to the provinces,” says Edith Van Wijngaarden, Humanity & Inclusion’s country manager for Cambodia. “The rates haven’t decreased over the past few weeks, and the real numbers may be even higher than the official figures.” 

Economic deterioration 

Strict government restrictions were put in place to prevent more infections, but efforts to stifle one crisis have fueled another. Following the mandatory closure of businesses, travel and social gatherings, people found themselves in the midst of a serious economic crisis, with no means to make a living. 

“The situation has been really difficult,” Van Wijngaarden explains. “People in the high-risk, or ‘red’ zones could not even access food. Many people have lost their jobs. There is no more tourism, so everyone in that industry is struggling. There were outbreaks in the garment factories. The entire economic situation is degrading.”

While the pandemic situation appears hopeful with a promising vaccination plan in place, the government opted to prematurely lift restrictions to provide some economic relief, renewing risks posed by the current wave of cases. 

Work continues despite challenges

Despite the difficulties imposed by both the pandemic and economic crises, Humanity & Inclusion’s teams have continued to support the population’s most vulnerable people. 

In addition to providing Personal Protective Equipment to reduce Covid-19 infection risk, staff members are distributing food kits to those affected by loss of income. Teams continue to provide rehabilitation services to people living with disabilities. Since February, staff have implemented in-person care as well as tele-rehabilitation to ensure accessibility. Using dolls as demonstration tools, parents are learning how to practice physical therapy exercises and continue care for children with disabilities at home. 

“Our rehabilitation center is still up and running,” Van Wijngaarden says. “It has had to open and close a little, but it hasn’t impacted our ability to support the community. When we have no other option, we follow up and support them remotely. We are currently training five other centers to do remote rehabilitation as well.”

Global response to Covid-19

Amid the health crisis, Humanity & Inclusion specialists continue to provide vital rehabilitation care for people with disabilities in physical therapy units and alongside local partners. This is increasingly important, as overworked medical facilities and government restrictions limit access to other care services. Teams are also providing mental health and psychosocial support to assist frontline healthcare workers, people with disabilities, vulnerable people and their families.

Humanity & Inclusion teams around the world have been responding to the Covid-19 pandemic since March 2020. Donors helped launch more than 170 Covid-19 projects in dozens of countries to protect and care for the people that others overlook. Between March and August 2020, staff have reached 2.2 million people with care and aid to keep Covid-19 at bay.

Image: A Humanity & Inclusion physical therapist uses a doll to demonstrate rehabilitation exercises a mother can practice at home with her son who has cerebral palsy. Copyright: HI

Persons with disabilities often encounter significant barriers to accessing health information and services, including physical, communication, attitudinal and financial barriers. Persons with disabilities are two times more likely to find health care providers’ skills and facilities inadequate, three times more likely to be denied health care, and four times more likely to be treated poorly in health care facilities.

While the general health needs of persons with disabilities are the same as everyone else and can often be met by primary healthcare services, they may also have additional specific health needs, including access to rehabilitation and assistive devices such as wheelchairs, artificial limbs and visual supports. Despite greater needs, 50% of persons with disabilities cannot afford healthcare, facing a 50% higher risk, compared to persons without disabilities, of facing catastrophic healthcare costs.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, persons with disabilities were significantly affected by the disruption of health services, and experienced greater difficulties in getting information on and implementing preventive measures such as accessing clean water and sinks and practicing social distancing. In addition, they might have been disqualified from receiving care due to the prioritization of treating Covid-19 patients.

In Jordan, 88% of those who responded to a survey conducted by Humanity & Inclusion in 2020 reported that they could not go to the hospital for their regular checks or additional medical needs.

WHA adopts crucial resolution

Recognizing the huge unmet health needs and the persistent exclusion of persons with disabilities from health care information and services, the resolution recently adopted by the World Health Assembly builds on the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and reaffirms the right of persons with disabilities to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health, with no discrimination and on the basis of free and informed consent.

Organizations of persons with disabilities and other civil society organizations were consulted during the drafting process and provided critical input to the resolution. Humanity & Inclusion’s contribution was provided through the International Disability & Development Consortium and in partnership with the International Disability Alliance.

The resolution provides a set of important commitments for Member States to move toward more disability-inclusive health systems, including:

• consulting with, and actively involving persons with disabilities and their representative organizations, in decision making and designing programs;
• identifying and eliminating attitudinal, environmental and institutional obstacles and barriers that prevent persons with disabilities from accessing health;
• collecting health-related data, disaggregated by disability, age and sex, education level and household income to inform relevant policies and programs;
• developing and implementing policies and programs to improve access to rehabilitation, as well as affordable and quality assistive technology within universal health and/or social services coverage and to ensure their sustainability.

The resolution requests the World Health Organization (WHO) to produce, in close consultation with Member States and relevant stakeholders, a global report on the highest attainable standard of health for persons with disabilities by the end of 2022. WHO is also called to ensure the implementation of the United Nations Disability Inclusion Strategy, and the creation of an inclusive global research agenda.

Translating political commitment to action

As an organization with extensive experience in disability inclusion in health as well as in rehabilitation, Humanity & Inclusion believes this resolution can help make significant steps in both fields. However, Humanity & Inclusion recognizes that rehabilitation is an essential health strategy not only for some persons with disabilities, but also for many other people who experience limitations in their everyday functioning. Therefore, while Humanity & Inclusion welcomes the integration of rehabilitation in this resolution, the organization also highlights that the need for rehabilitation is bigger—estimated at 2.4 billion people globally—and requires additional, specific political commitment to ensure that health systems integrate rehabilitation and make it accessible to everyone in need.

The resolution comes at a crucial time, as the WHO global disability action plan expires and when Covid-19 has exacerbated existing inequities in accessing and receiving health care.

As the WHO, Member States and community organizations are paying efforts to “build back better,” they should look into building back more inclusively. This resolution provides a solid roadmap to advance in this direction, but it will remain an empty text if it is not followed by concrete and immediate actions.

Humanity & Inclusion is marking World Clubfoot Day on June 3 by highlighting the importance of early treatment. Providing care for clubfoot in the weeks immediately after a child’s birth can prevent them from growing up with a disability.

Clubfoot is the malformation of one or both feet and is visible at birth. If left untreated the foot never regains its normal position, with serious consequences for the child. They can never wear shoes, risk injury, and find it difficult to walk, especially over long distances. Because the child cannot take part in activities with other children, they also risk being excluded and stigmatized. 

“We can prevent this bleak outcome," says Uta Prehl, one of Humanity & Inclusion’s rehabilitation specialists. “But we must detect this malformation as soon as possible after birth. It’s one of the keys to successful treatment. The child can then be treated effectively, and the malformation corrected, and within months they can walk normally. Social workers also play an important role in the care cycle by working with parents to ensure they continue the treatment. If children are not followed up correctly and regularly, the malformation may not be properly corrected. So, it’s crucial to give caregivers as much information as possible.”

Treatment involves placing a cast—which is replaced every week for six weeks—on the child’s leg to steadily correct the foot. The tendons are sometimes operated on before the final cast. Humanity & Inclusion’s partner organizations then fit the child with an orthopedic brace made of a bar connecting two small shoes, which is worn for the first four months and regularly adjusted to appropriately correct the malformation. The child’s feet are checked until they are able to walk, and an X-ray is performed to check healing. The brace and shoes are normally removed between the ages of 3 and 4. The child continues to attend regularly follow-up consultations until they stop growing to prevent the malformation from returning.

For several years, Humanity & Inclusion has trained physical therapists in a number of countries to promote the early detection and appropriate care management of clubfoot. Teams continue to run these projects today, particularly in Burkina Faso and Sri Lanka, so children born with these malformations grow up without disabilities. 

Image: An adult's hands hold the out-turned feet of a small child in Cambodia who has clubfoot. Copyright: Lucas Veuve/HI

Srey Nuch has been living with paraplegia since she was 13. Humanity & Inclusion has helped her set up her own sewing business, but she doesn’t plan to stop there!

Srey was picking pods for a family meal from the top of a tamarind tree—a common fruit tree in Cambodia— when she fell to the ground.  The accident  left Srey unable to walk, and her family went into debt paying for her treatment. Her parents sold their belongings and borrowed money from village moneylenders. Srey's two older brothers dropped out school to find work. Since Srey was unable to stand, she also had to stop attending classes.

Unable to climb the seven steps into her family’s stilt house, Srey moved into a small outbuilding nearby. During rainy season, it was almost impossible for her to move around on the muddy floor.

“It was an awful experience, and it left me disabled, and with my family we went through a lot of pain and some really tough times," Srey explains. “It was hard. I couldn't move around, and that made me feel sad. But since I’ve been able to access rehabilitation services, I feel a lot more hopeful about the future.

A budding entrepreneur

Srey lives in a village near Humanity & Inclusion’s rehabilitation center in Kampong Cham, where she has received rehabilitation care since 2015. The team also gave Srey a wheelchair and leg braces.

"Srey Nuch's condition has really improved,” says Vimean Srun, a physical therapist for Humanity & Inclusion. “To begin with, she couldn't move her legs at all. So I began by doing physical therapy exercises with her and showed her mother so they could do them at home. We also gave her with a wheelchair. Initially she found it hard to move from the chair to her bed or the toilet. But she put in a lot of practice and now she moves around with her crutches and braces.”

Staff from Humanity & Inclusion’s socio-economic inclusion project also helped Srey put her plans to become a seamstress into action. She was given a sewing machine and material to get her business up and running. She also joined an inclusive community investment program, which taught her how to sew. Today, Srey’s an accomplished entrepreneur who makes beautiful clothes.

“I earn an income from my sewing skills, which helps my family,” Srey says. “I’m really grateful to Humanity & Inclusion and everyone who wants me to be part of the community."

When she’s not working, Srey is active in her village, does chores, and enjoys hobbies.

“With my braces, crutches and wheelchair I can move around the house, go out, and visit my neighbors” she says. “I can do a lot of things without help, like washing myself and my clothes, and cooking. I love cooking! I can even go into the garden and pick lemongrass to make my favorite dish!”

Srey ’s aspirations don’t end there: “As well as sewing, I am going to start raising chickens to earn more and help my younger brother go to school,” she says.

Top image: Srey sits in her wheelchair at her sewing machine in Cambodia. Copyright: Stephen Rae/HI
Inline image: Srey sits at a table while preparing one of her favorite meals at her home in Cambodia. Copyright: Stephen Rae/HI

Ceasefire between Gaza and Israel enables local teams in Gaza to launch rehabilitation services for more than 500 people.

Twelve days after the most recent escalation of violence in Gaza, the parties involved have announced a ceasefire. 

This long-awaited break comes after nearly eight days of constant bombings resulted in 242 lives lost between Gaza and Israel, including 67 children and 43 women. More than 1,700 people are injured.

“We’ve been waiting for a ceasefire,” says Laurent Palustran, Humanity & Inclusion’s country manager for the region. “We can now start responding to humanitarian needs with more ease and be able to intensify the distribution of a lot more aid than what we’ve done so far.”

According to a recent report by the UNWRA, approximately 91,000 people have been internally displaced, over 66,000 of whom have sought refuge in 58 UNWRA schools opened as emergency shelters. Humanity & Inclusion teams have conducted needs assessments of those displaced people to determine next steps. 

“We’re starting to get clearer data thanks to these evaluations,” Palustran explains. “We have identified over 500 people in these shelters that have disabilities and are in need.” 

Reham Shaheen, Humanity & Inclusion’s Rehabilitation Task Force Coordinator in Gaza, explains the needs of the vulnerable populations the organization serves in areas of conflict.

“Psychosocial support is one of the greatest needs,” Shaheen says. “Many will lose a limb or an organ and will have psychological needs afterwards. People really need mental health and counseling to cope with the current situation. Then there is great need for multidisciplinary rehabilitation services, like physical therapy and wound dressing sessions to prevent disabilities after injury.

“Usually the needs of injured people change after a few weeks. There is either deterioration or improvement in their condition, so there is dire need for assistive devices and rehabilitation support as well.” 

Humanity & Inclusion is prepared to distribute mobility aids such as crutches, walkers and wheelchairs, along with Infection Prevention and Control kits to keep wounds clean and prevent infection that could lead to long-term ailments. 

The Covid-19 pandemic has not let up in Gaza, with Johns Hopkins reporting a total of 304,532 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic, and 3,448 deaths between Gaza and the West Bank.

“This escalation occurred while we’re being hit with a second wave of Covid-19,” Shaheen explains. “We have two emergencies, so there is a need for hygiene kits. People need to have clean environments to be able to avoid illness, and in terms of injuries, to keep their wounds clean to avoid any infections.” 

Image: A Humanity & Inclusion physical therapist assists an injured civilian in a rehabilitation session in Gaza in 2018. Copyright: Hardy Skills/HI

After losing his right leg in a motorcycle accident, Kuch, 8, quickly learned to walk again with an artificial limb made for him by Humanity & Inclusion.

After visiting family in Cambodia’s Takeo province in April 2019, Kuch and his parents crammed onto the seat of their motorcycle for the long drive home. Motorcycles are a common method of transportation throughout Cambodia. 

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, then silence. A speeding motorcyclist hit them head-on. In the blink of an eye, their lives had changed forever. 

Cambodia has the third-highest motorcycle death rate in the world. In 2019, 30% of new patients at Humanity & Inclusion’s physical rehabilitation center in Kampong Cham were victims of road accidents.

Two life-saving amputations

As Kuch’s parents regained consciousness, they realized with horror that their son was in a critical condition. His right leg was broken and caught in a wheel. For young Kuch, this marked the start of a terrible ordeal. After being pulled from the wreckage, he was rushed to a nearby hospital. The next day, he was transferred to a hospital in Cambodia’s capital city of Phnom Penh. When they arrived, Kuch’s parents were shocked to learn he needed an amputation to save his life.  

Six months later, Kuch’s family visited Humanity & Inclusion’s rehabilitation center so the boy could be fitted with a prosthetic leg. Unfortunately, Kuch’s stump became red and infected, and he experienced high fevers. When medical staff examined him, they made a disturbing discovery: unless Kuch had another amputation, he would likely develop sepsis. Kuch returned to the hospital in Phnom Penh, where he spent months in recovery and experienced a serious drop in morale.

Back to his old self

Once Kuch’s stump had healed and after numerous rehabilitation sessions helping to strengthen his muscles, Kuch was finally ready to be fitted with his prosthesis in June 2020. Determined to heal, Kuch enthusiastically practiced his walking exercises and became comfortable with his artificial leg in no time at all.

"After his leg was amputated, my son couldn’t walk anymore,” explains Kuch’s mother. “He even found it hard to use crutches and he couldn’t go far without getting tired. Everything was an effort. He even had trouble getting up when he bent to pick things up. And our house doesn't have a toilet, so we have to go outside. It was all really complicated for him. Fortunately, since he was fitted with his prosthesis, Kuch has changed a lot. He can help me with the housework, go shopping for food, visit and play with his friends and go to school.”

Kuch continues to visit the rehabilitation center, which is a 90-minute drive from his family’s home, for follow-up care and repairs to his prosthetic. Humanity & Inclusion donors cover the family’s food and transportation costs during these routine visits. The team also checks in with Kuch at home. Kuch will continue to receive new artificial limbs as he outgrows old ones.

"I would like to thank Humanity & Inclusion and donors for making it possible for my child to receive the help he has,” adds Kuch’s mother.

After months of waiting, Kuch returned to school, walking nearly a mile each way. He enjoys studying and making friends. 

"I love playing football with my friends,” Kuch says with a big grin on his face. “When I grow up, I want to be a doctor.”

Header image: A young boy named Kuch grins outside a rehabilitation center in Cambodia. Inline image: Kuch, whose right leg is amputated, sits on a padded table at a rehabilitation center in Cambodia. He's wearing a mask. Copyright: Stephen Rae/HI

Abdullah was playing outside with his friends, when an airstrike blasted his village in Yemen. After doctors amputated his leg, Humanity & Inclusion helped Abdullah stand tall again.

The attack in December 2019, deeply affected Abdullah, 12. Not only was he gravely injured, but his cousin, who was like a brother to him, was killed. In an effort to save his life, Abdullah was rushed to Al Kuwait Hospital in Sana’a, where his leg was amputated.

The hospital is more than five hours from Al-Hudaida, where Abdullah lives with 11 siblings and his parents in a small house. Until recently, the village was the scene of frequent fighting and airstrikes. Living in poverty and isolation, Abdullah’s family does not have access to health services, electricity, food or water. The nearest school is miles away. For Abdullah and his family, getting the boy fitted for a prosthetic leg seemed out of reach at first.

Confined to the hospital for almost a month, Abdullah struggled with the grief of losing his cousin. He worried he would never play, walk or run again.

Traumatized, Abdullah was afraid of the doctors who came to see him. He screamed whenever physical therapists tried to do rehabilitation exercises with him. He was completely lost. Everything frightened him. 

Humanity & Inclusion’s team took the time to reassure him and build his confidence. The team gave him psychological support and rehabilitation care. He went from using a wheelchair to crutches.

Then, the team fitted him with a below-the-knee prosthetic leg, and conducted rehabilitation sessions to help strengthen his muscles and teach him to walk again. The team also taught Abdullah and one of his brothers how to maintain and clean the artificial limb.

Abdullah is now walking with the help of his new leg. He will receive new prosthetics as he grows.

Humanity & Inclusion in Yemen

Yemen has been devastated by an ongoing conflict that began in March 2015. Humanity & Inclusion teams work in nine health centers and treats patients from all over the country. Since Humanity & Inclusion began its operations in Yemen six years ago, teams have treated 30,000 people, many of them victims of the conflict. More than 3,000 people were victims of explosive weapons such as bombings, explosive remnants of war, landmines, and improvised explosive devices.

Humanity & Inclusion has provided more than 35,000 crutches, walkers, wheelchairs and other mobility aids to people in Yemen. More than 500 people have been fitted with prosthetics and orthotics through Humanity & Inclusion's collaboration with the Sana'a Physical Therapy and Prosthesis Center.

In additional to physical rehabilitation, nearly 23,000 people have received psychological support from Humanity & Inclusion. More than 800 Yemeni health workers have been trained in early trauma response. Support Yemenis with disabilities affected by the ongoing conflict.

Header image: A boy named Abdullah holds his amputated leg while waiting to be fitted with a prosthetic in Yemen. Copyright: ISNA Agency/HI

Inline image: Abdullah, 12, practices walking over obstacles with his new prosthetic leg in Yemen. Copyright: ISNA Agency/HI

Amid rising tensions, Humanity & Inclusion is implementing health, logistics and inclusion projects in the Central African Republic. Based in Bangui, Bambari and Bangassou, its teams are ready to help people caught up in the worsening conflict.

"The Central African Republic has entered a new cycle of violence," explains Coralie Frémion, Humanity & Inclusion’s Program Director in the Central African Republic. "Since mid-December, there has been a resurgence in fighting between government forces and their allies on the one hand, and the Coalition of Patriots for Change on the other."

Population severely affected by conflict

The Central African Republic depends on imports for certain food, fuel and industrial products. 

"For the last two months, traffic along the country's main road from Bangui to Douala in Cameroon, through which most imported goods usually transit, has been disrupted by insecurity and armed violence,” Frémion says. "This has impacted everyone in the Central African Republic because it has caused a spike in inflation."

The price of rice in Bangui, for example, increased 43% in January 2021. 

Since December, the crisis has resulted in more than 120,000 new internally displaced people in addition to 600,000 people who were already displaced. A quarter of the country’s population–1.3 million people–are internally displaced or living in neighboring countries

"This raises serious concerns about the protection of civilians and humanitarian actors," Frémion explains. "Yet despite this context and the insecurity, Humanity & Inclusion and many NGOs continue to provide assistance."

Work continues despite challenges

In partnership with Première Urgence Internationale, and with funding from USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, Humanity & Inclusion is working to distribute supplies in the Central African Republic. Humanity & Inclusion's six-person logistics team is on stand-by to deliver essential aid on behalf of all humanitarian organizations working in the country, transporting supplies including medicine, vaccines, Covid-19 kits, and kits of essential items such as blankets, plastic sheets, soap, school supplies and construction materials.

Humanity & Inclusion’s transport of humanitarian cargo by air is likely to play an increasingly important role in keeping supplies available. Air freight is sometimes the only way to reach the most vulnerable people easily and quickly, and Humanity & Inclusion’s program covers 24 destinations. 

In addition, Humanity & Inclusion physical rehabilitation project has provided care to several injured people in Bambari, a town in the center of the country, where armed clashes have taken place. In January, 70% of Humanity & Inclusion’s patients were wounded in the conflict. All had bullet wounds. 

Humanity & Inclusion’s nine-person team provides physical therapy, psychosocial support, mobility aids, prosthetics and orthotics to people with disabilities and injuries in the region.

Image: Workers wearing vests and face masks load a truck of supplies in the Central African Republic in November 2020. Copyright: Adrienne Surprenant/HI

Faiso’s right hand was burned severely by hot water in 2017, causing her to lose the ability to complete basic tasks like writing, bathing and getting dressed. Two years later, Faiso’s mother reached out to Humanity & Inclusion for support.

In 2019, Humanity & Inclusion hosted a routine awareness event, informing people living in the Ifo Refugee Camp in Kenya of the rehabilitation services its team provides. After the session, Faiso’s mother decided to take her daughter to Humanity & Inclusion’s rehabilitation center.

The team assessed Faiso’s hand and determined she would need surgery to regain full range of motion. Before surgery, Humanity & Inclusion provided psychosocial services to Faiso and her family to create a supportive structure for her recovery. 

After the procedure, Humanity & Inclusion conducted home visits to provide additional counseling and rehabilitation, helping Faiso gain the ability to independently feed, dress and bathe herself. After 22 at-home rehabilitation sessions, Humanity & Inclusion’s team determined Faiso had regained the use of her right hand.

Faiso's care was supported by a multi-year project funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, with the goal of strengthening the environment for refugee and host communities in Kenya through the provision of community-based services including protection, rehabilitation, and psychosocial support.

Faiso, now 10, is in grade one at the Sunlight Primary School. During Humanity & Inclusion’s most recent home visit in January 2021, Faiso was joyful and bonding with her siblings. 

“I am very grateful for the support I was accorded by the Humanity and Inclusion team from Ifo camp.,” she says. “I was at first afraid of the surgery but after the counseling session by the Humanity & Inclusion team, I accepted to undergo the procedure. My mother was also very supportive. She would always encourage me to continue with the counseling sessions for recovery. Now I can move my right hand without any challenge or discomfort and eat comfortably, I can even draw using my hand and also help my mother in doing light house chores like sweeping the floor.”

Saisa developed such serious health issues after being pricked by a poisonous thorn that her leg had to be amputated. Humanity & Inclusion is providing rehabilitation and psychosocial support for Saisa.

Saisa, 10, was attending a birthday party in the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya last year when she was pricked on the left foot by a poisonous thorn. After a week of traditional treatment, Saisa’s condition continue to worsen. Her leg was turning black and her skin was peeling. Her mother took her to the International Rescue Committee hospital, where doctors determined Saisa was experienced gangrene. She was admitted to the hospital and, two days later, her leg was amputated.

After surgery, Humanity & Inclusion’s pediatric rehabilitation workers worked with Saisa to shape her stump, help her manage phantom pain and teach her exercises to expand her range of motion. She also received psychosocial support to process the trauma and grief of losing her leg.

Saisa continues to receive care at Humanity & Inclusion’s rehabilitation center in the refugee camp, focusing on physical exercises to strengthen her muscles and train her balance, as well as psychosocial support to improve her self-esteem.

Soon, Saisa will be equipped with a prosthetic leg. In the meantime, Saisa has learned to walk with crutches. Saisa’s parents and her six siblings are also learning about the stages of grief so they can support Saisa on her journey to recovery.

“Saisa can finally go out and play with her friends without my supervision,” says Rihad, Saisa’s mother. “In the hospital, I was stressed and I thought my daughter had become useless. I never knew that someone would help me. When I went home, the Humanity & Inclusion people came to my house and now my daughter is a person again.”

When schools reopened this year, Humanity & Inclusion made sure Saisa was transferred to an inclusive school within her neighborhood.  Her confidence is growing each day, and she has big dreams for her future.

“I want to be a businesswoman when I grow up and sell many things,” Saisa says. “I am very happy that I can go to school now.”

Image: A young girl named Saisa uses crutches as she walks with her friends at the Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. Copyright: HI