KIT Blog

WARNING: distressing details in this story

Maimuna is now able to take care of her feet and prevent further damage while her ulcers heal.

You’ve brought hope and healing by saving the soles of many others like her too.

But Maimuna’s journey to healing was long and sad. She first noticed skin patches when she was a young girl. Left untreated, she lost feeling in her hands and feet. She couldn’t feel any pain when she burnt herself and developed horrific ulcers on her feet.

She suffered extreme pain in her leg. The ulcers became so severe that she had to have her leg amputated to save her life… at age 15. It was only at this point that she recieved the medicines she needed to cure her leprosy.

Given a prosthetic leg, she returned to her village in northern Zamfara with her husband.

But Maimuna and her husband faced an unimaginable terror.

“Two years ago Fulani herdsman came to my village and killed my father, mother, and two brothers all in the same day. First they started shooting with a machine gun. The bullets came through the walls of our house. They locked my younger brother and his children in their house and then set fire to it.

“Then they came back two weeks later and killed my husband. They slaughtered him in front of me as if he was an animal by cutting his throat. He couldn’t run away because of his disability. I was pregnant at the time and I had four young children. The terrorists where killing the men and boys so I dressed my three boys as girls and we ran away. We called for help but it was several days before soldiers came – it was too late. We don’t know how many people they killed. We don’t know why these men did this. It doesn’t make any sense to us.”

While fleeing the village, she damaged her prosthetic leg. Without protective shoes, she stepped on a thorn with her other foot. As a result, another ulcer developed.

Today, Maimuna lives in a different village and has five kids in school. She received a new prosthetic leg at The Leprosy Mission hospital in Sokoto. And protective shoes! All because people like you support people like Maimuna affected by leprosy.

Maimuna is still healing from the ulcer that thorn caused.

“It is getting better – I soak my foot daily and apply fresh dressings. I got my new prosthetic four weeks ago, and it fits perfectly. I much prefer using this prosthetic than crutches – the crutches cause my arms pain.”

Recently, we handed Maimuna messages that you sent in the lead up to Christmas.

“Truly I thank you!”

“May God bless you and your family! Thank you, thank you! Please, greet other people with disability in Australia for me. May Jesus bless you.”