A 10-year-old disabled girl who does virtually everything with her legs is seeking the assistance of the public to enable her to fulfil her ambition of becoming a medical doctor.
City & Crime gathered that the girl’s hands were shrunken and could not be moved.
Fatima Kabiru, who resides in Chikaji area of Sabon Gari Local Government Area of Kaduna State, is currently in class five at Chikaji Model Primary School and is performing well educationally.
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Speaking in an exclusive interview, Fatima said she eats with her legs using a spoon, applies pomade and powder, drinks from a cup, and wears her hijab all with her legs.
Though she faces no stigma among her peers and classmates, the disabled girl said she wishes she could be like her friends who use their hands to do so many things that she could not do.
Her mother, Mallama Amina Idris, who narrated how the disability happened, recalled that “when my pregnancy reached an advanced stage with some severe pains, I rushed to the hospital for medical attention and during birth, the medical personnel were contemplating conducting CS to remove the baby but later changed their minds and said I could be delivered of her successfully.
“I assumed the baby was forcefully removed from me without observing professional ethics, but that was my prediction,” she said.
The mother of five, however, stated that “after forcing the girl out of me, and was discharged, the following day, lots of women at home observed that the hands of the baby seemed like she had sustained fractures, as the hands continued to look slim, fragile and unusable.
“Therefore, after seeking medical attention for a very long time to no avail, I became exhausted as her father was exhibiting a nonchalant attitude towards her medication.
“In fact, that was the reason we had to divorce because he was not paying any attention to the medical plight of the girl.
“Since then, he abandoned her to my care alone, and I took the bull by the horns and continued to provide the little I could afford for her studies, medical care, feeding and clothing despite my poverty level.
“It is my hope to fulfil her dream of becoming a medical doctor. However, I am now handicapped due to a lack of assistance from any quarters, including her biological father.
Meanwhile, Nura Mohammed Uba, the spokesman of Chikaji Model Primary School, School-Based Management Committee (SBMC), said after discovering the condition, the committee vowed to solicit for aid to cater for her educational pursuit to fulfil her dream.
He said currently, they have assisted the mother in opening a bank account in the girl’s name to facilitate financial assistance from the public.