The operation, the foundation officials said cost over 3000 Euros which is equivalent to over one hundred and seventy-eight thousand dalasis.
The operation which targeted disabled children with bow legs or X legs and clubfoot was conducted by Doctor Harry De Vries with support from the foundation. After the successful operation, the foundation also provided them with accommodation with the objectives of ensuring they recover speedily.
Officials said the operation was the second humanitarian gesture conducted in the country with the first done in 2019. According to them, some of the children that had their legs operated were in the streets.
Parents of the children hailed the foundation for what they described as changing the lives of their children, especially for the children that used to have walking difficulties.
Speaking to The Point in an exclusive interview, chairperson of the Foundation, Francien Smits said her foundation is committed to addressing the challenges disability children encounter especially when it comes to providing them with quality health service delivery.
According to her, her foundation is currently sponsoring about 40 special needs children in the country. This, she added, is meant among others in ensuring that they achieve quality education.
“We want to focus on these 40 children at the moment so that they can achieve the quality education they wish to attend. The sponsorship will therefore, continue in the coming years. Again, we need to have enough money to do this humanitarian gesture because it costs the foundation almost a thousand Euros per month,” she stated.
“We do not want to see disabled children roaming in the streets asking for help while their peers are going to school. Therefore, we thought it’s of paramount importance to help them have open legs and get them operated so that they can walk perfectly like any other person in order for them to go to school,” she posited, claiming that many parents thought disability children should not have the opportunity to go to school.
She further added: “We also have a daycare for children with multiple disabilities. These are children that are physically and mentally handicapped. They are cared for three days a week. They get food, drinks, love, attention and can also learn something.”
She further added that every year in November the foundation will have an operation project, claiming that: “In each of the operations, an orthopedic surgeon from the Netherlands will come to The Gambia to conduct an operation for children that have open legs among others.”
For her part, Bianca Vorstenbosch spoke at length on the significant role the foundation is playing towards supporting disability children, saying: “After the operation, the foundation will provide them immediate needs so that they can recover fully. Our objective is for the children to be good and go back to society and acquire the necessary education so that they can in the future contribute towards national development.”
The Gambia Child Foundation officials said they will next seek cooperation with Foundation Hands Together for The Gambia.
