It has been 12 years since Channa's mother, Sokra, first met with an HI social worker.
“He told me that with a prosthesis my daughter would be able to walk. I thought this was wonderful, that Channa could have a future like everyone else! I was so sad to see her dragging herself along the ground at age whe to walk,” she explained to HI at the time.
A baby born prematurely in need of a major operation...
Channa was born prematurely, weighing just over one kilo. After her birth, her mother, Sokra, discovered that her little daughter had been born with her left leg almost completely detached from her body and malformed fingers... The doctor immediately decided to amputate Channa’s leg.
After meeting with the HI teams, Channa was given rehabilitation treatment and her first prosthesis. Since then, she has made regular visits to HI’s orthopaedic center in Kampong Cham and, as she has grown, she has been fitted with new prostheses adapted to her size. She can’t imagine life without her faithful companion:
“I'm so happy to have my prosthesis. It changes my life. It's because I have it that I can walk and skip!”
...now an autonomous young girl with a passion for geography
Passionate about geography and maps, Channa is supported by her school, which has waived her school fees. She is concentrating hard on her studies. She still has four years to go and spends her after-school time doing homework with a friend.
With the help of rehabilitation exercises, Channa has gained in autonomy. She has learned to walk, run and do her daily chores around the house. She uses a moped to get to school – a 15-minute journey – and is now able to get around independently, whether on foot, by bike or on her moped.
As her parents are financially insecure, she has to travel to the Kampong Cham centre by herself, which sometimes complicates her access to care.
Her parents and grandmother encourage her to do well at school in order to get a stable job, ideally in a rehabilitation centre. Indeed, if she doesn’t achieve her ambition of becoming a teacher, she plans to train in prosthetics and orthotics (P&O) so that she too can help people in need. She also wants to learn English so that one day she can work with HI.
Spokesperson for people with disabilities
Today, Channa regularly shares her experience to raise awareness of disability issues and make people aware of the challenges they face on a daily basis. She explains that in her country, people with disabilities are often unable to work in the same way as others.People with disabilities face discrimination and have fewer opportunities in Cambodia.
Channa encourages people with disabilities to go to a rehabilitation centre to get the support they need and become more autonomous.
She believes that inclusion is a way for children with disabilities to make their voices heard, defend their rights and strengthen their links with the community.
