Give prosthetics to low limbs amputees in Colombia

Meet Yennifer, she is 14 years old and loves to dance more than anything in the world. She was born without her right leg due to a rare genetic condition, but this has never stopped her from following her dreams as a salsa champion.

Yenny is from Ibague, a small city in the west of Colombia, when she was eleven she was dancing at a school performance in the town square and was spotted by a dance teacher, her talent was so amazing that he was surprised to discover she only had one leg.

She was then recruited in to a special dance school that emphasizes on salsa and other tropical rhythms. She quickly rose to the ranks and in a matter of months was dancing with the junior company and competing. This year she participated in the junior salsa championship and was awarded a special mention by the judges. In Yenny’s own words when she is dancing her feelings and all her problems just “melt away”.

Yennifer is a fighter, she is really brave and never gives up, but the past few months have been very challenging. Her old prostheses that was a gift from all her classmates and teacher at her dance school last year was now too small and painful for her to dance with, and she kept getting hurt because she would stop dancing.

Thanks to your generous contributions we gave Yenny a new artificial leg, one fitted for her height and adjusted to help her dancing. She was beyond words, being able to dance again with no pain she could not keep still and couldn’t wait to get back to the dance studio and rehearse.

Yenny says her dream is to travel the world showing her talent and other children and youth with disabilities that anything is possible if you are passionate and work hard. She is poised to compete again in a junior championship this June. With your help Mahavir Kmina gave this wonderful girl a new chance at fulfilling her goals.

So on behalf of Yenny, her family and dance friends we say, Thank you! Your donations made this dream a reality.

Please consider sharing Yenny’s story and our work with your friends and family so we can continue helping more amazing children like Yenny walk confidently to a better future.

Links:

• Watch Yenny dance and get her new prostheses!

This is Kevin. He is 7 years old and lives in a small town near Medellin with his mom, dad and little sister. Kevin lost his leg when he was a baby due to a severe whooping cough. He is a positive and energetic boy and everytime we see him here at Mahavir Kmina he is jumping and playing!

We have provided Kevin with two prosthesis already -children's artificial legs have to be changed at least once a year because they are constantly growing -. He is positive and brave, but before his prosthesis he had a hard time in school, he has had to change schools twice because of terrible bullying. He was even refusing to go to school entirely. In Mahavir we not only provide people who have lost their legs with a prosthetic limbs but we have psycologist that can help them and their family navigate the difficulties of having a dissability. So next time he came to our offices we set to do something about the situation.

Kevin and his mom worked with our in house psycologist to work out the best way explain to the school's principal and teachers how to talk to other students about Kevin's situation. Here in Mahavir Kmina we strive not only to rehabilitate people physically but also to streghten their self-esteem and promote their inclusion in their community

Now Kevin is feeling better, he likes going to school and in his his own brave words "I only need the love of my mom, dad and little sister, with this new leg I can run play soccer and hide and seek with the friends that love me the way I am ".