Grant Status $415 needed

Medical Expenses for Scoliosis +
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Expected Usage of Funding
Tuition:
$0
School Supplies:
$0
Textbooks:
$0
Transportation:
$0
Room & Board:
$0
Other:
$900

Profile

Anjela was born to very poor parents who were members of the Maasai tribe and lived in the Rift Valley in northern Tanzania. She was born in a mud hut (Boma) with a spinal deformity. With no access to medical care, no attention was given to Anjela's condition. To complicate matters, she was given away by her mother to another family where she lived. The new family's boma was also very poor and, after the adoptive father died, more often than not Anjela and the other family members went to bed hungry.
Anjela came to us for a remedial education year so that she could aspire and hopefully gain admittance to secondary school. When she arrived, we saw the deformity and asked about it. She had no information to share except to say that she always had this problem and had never been taken to a hospital for it.
We took Anjela to the hospital to be diagnosed and, if possible, treated. It was then that we learned that she was born with Scoliosis, a deformity of the spine, and that if it was left untreated, her life expectancy would be significantly reduced. (Her spine is beginning to press her lungs and heart up against her ribcage.)
Anjela seems very bright and we think she will do well in the remedial program and gain admittance to secondary school. However, before she can do this, we must take action to prevent any further damage to Anjela's health. After multiple meetings with Anjela and the doctors, we were strongly advised that Anjela must be fitted for, and wear a brace, to prevent her spine from further pressuring her lungs and heart. The cost of the initial doctor visits, creating the brace form, and manufacturing the brace for Anjela will cost $900 initially. As she grows, Anjela will need to be fitted for, and made new braces, until she completes her adolescent growth spurt.
With a new life at pre-Form I, Anjela's life is taking a turn for the better. She is an uncomplaining child, now living in a nurturing and healthy environment, filled with the desire to learn. With a "brace" for her scoliosis, the future is bright for Anjela.
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Updates

  • 31 DEC 2018

    December 2018 Update: A Letter from Anjela!

    [font=OpenSansRegular, arial, sans-serif]Below is a letter that Anjela has sent us recently. Thank you to the donors who have supported her this far![/font] [font=OpenSansRegular, arial, sans-serif] [/font]
  • 24 DEC 2018

    December 2018 Update

    [font=OpenSansRegular, arial, sans-serif][img]/images/user/23870_12150022967710965436.png[/img][/font]
  • 29 MAY 2018

    May 2018 Update from Anjela

    [font=OpenSansRegular, arial, sans-serif] [/font] Anjela has recently completed Form 2 of secondary school and achieved a Division 1 result on her national exam – the highest that is awarded to fewer than 7% of the students who take the exam country-wide. Anjela scored 5 A’s in Chemistry, Math, English, Swahili, and Civics, 1 B is Biology, 5 C’s and 1 D in French. Physically, Anjela continues to do well. Her back brace has prevented her scoliosis from becoming worse and has eliminated the fear that she would soon lose her life to pressure on her heart and lungs from the scoliosis. Below is a letter from Anjela [font=OpenSansRegular, arial, sans-serif] [/font] [font=OpenSansRegular, arial, sans-serif] [/font]
  • 15 OCT 2017

    October 2017 Update from Anjela

    [font=OpenSansRegular, arial, sans-serif] [/font] Anjela’s scoliosis continues to be treated, principally with custom made back braces as her body changes. Without these braces and the hard work of the doctors and custom brace makers, Anjela’s spine would continue to curve and eventually press on her heart and lungs leading to an early death. Instead, her spine remains where it was almost two years ago. In addition, Anjela had completed 2nd semester at Sangiti secondary school with an improvement over 1st semester! She has now completed 1st semester of Form II and has achieved an average grade for the semester of “B” and places 13th out of a class of 85. We are quite pleased with Anjela’s grades this 1st semester of 2017. Thank you to Givology supporters for helping making it possible to stop the progression of her scoliosis. [font=OpenSansRegular, arial, sans-serif] [/font]
  • 04 NOV 2016

    October 2016 Update: A Successful First Semester

    When we last updated Anjelas situation, she had been admitted to Sangiti Secondary School as a Form I student. This is a major achievement in a country where only 59% of the students are admitted to secondary school. Anjelas first semester at secondary has gone extremely well considering how poor her primary school educational environment was. She achieved an overall average of B+ and place 11th out of 92 students. This is a wonderful accomplishment for Anjela! She achieved As in Math, History, Chemistry, Geography, French, and Swahili. She achieved Bs in Civics, Biology and Agriculture, and Cs in English and Physics. [b]Thank you to Givology supporters for helping make Anjelas education possible![/b]
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Donors

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