Over the period 23 November to 8 December 2011 a new surgical mission led by
Dr. Antonio Melotto was conducted within the World Friends project “
Surgery for the disabled”.
For the first time corrective surgery interventions were carried out
in the Neema Hospital operating theatre, open since September 2011. Up to then, in fact, World Friends medical staff operated at the Mbagathi state hospital, also in Nairobi.
An overall number of
19 operations took place on patients aged between 1 and 36 years of age. The youngest, Rag O., an infant of just 14 months, underwent corrective surgery for club foot, a disability affecting a great number of children in the shanty towns, often caused by the unsatisfactory and poor conditions in which deliveries occur.
Dr. Melotto also visited more than 16 patients, verifying among other problems a number of cases of bone and facial tumours, congenital malformation of limbs and a number of children with cases of cerebral palsy. Some children were given corrective plaster casts, such as little Waine, born just a few days previously, also suffering from club foot. All were put on the list of patients for the physiotherapy ward at Neema Hospital, a way to continue treatment even when no surgeons are present.
While on this mission, Dr. Melotto carried out
two training classes for physiotherapists and Nemma Hospital medical staff: one on cerebral palsy and its physical consequences, and the other on the Ponseti method for treatment of club foot.
On 3 December,
International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Dr. Melotto met up with mothers and children from the Babadogo shanty towns during the awareness event organized by World Friends in favour of differently able persons. On this occasion the documentary “Reject the stigma” was shown, a docu-fiction carried out by World Friends with the leading roles taken by mothers of disabled children, who have decided to face up to the discrimination that unfortunately affects their children.
On behalf of World Friends, Dr. Melotto and all the beneficiaries of the project “Surgery for the disabled”, our sincere and heartfelt thanks go to all those who have supported this mission through their donations to the Health Adoption project.
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Melania Bruno
World Friends Italy
Helena Pes
World Friends Kenya