Shortly after her father’s death, 12-year-old Mahooro fell ill with terrible pain in her arm.

Being widowed, Mahooro’s mother could not afford painkillers or antibiotics to help cure her daughter and had to rely on traditional, herbal medicine, which was not effective to treat Mahooro’s infection. Because of her disfigurement, Mahooru was ridiculed at school and called “lame” by her classmates. She recalls, “My arm had developed an abscess. Wherever I passed, some of my classmates moved away and wouldn’t sit next to me in class. It was terrible seeing the skin on my arm rot day by day.” The physical and emotional pain was too much for Mahooro to bear, and sadly, she quit school.

Mahooro’s mother agonized over her daughters’ suffering. She saved as much money as she could, and took Mahooro to many hospitals in hope of a cure for her daughter. At one hospital, Mahooro was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, a debilitatingly painful bone infection that caused her to lose significant use of her arm. Doctors told her that there was nothing that could be done for the infection, and that her arm would need to be amputated at a cost of about 3,500,000 shillings (about $950 US).

In 2021, Mahooro’s mother enrolled her in Bulamu’s Angel Program. “Bulamu was heaven sent,” her mother said. “I left the beans I had been growing to raise money for her painkillers and sat on a bus to Kampala. All my transport and welfare were paid for by Bulamu. I was told not to pay even a shilling at the hospital. How God does wonders for his sheep like us.”

Mahooro received surgery free of charge at Bulamu’s partner hospital CoRSU. She is now fully recovered and has returned to school!

Months later, Mahooro told our follow up team who visited her: “From mockery, I got care from Bulamu and now aim to climb higher. The nicknames that my classmates gave to me because of my dripping arm have, instead, become my source of strength. I will give a deaf ear to anyone who calls me “lame”. I wish all people who are blessed like me can be considered just as important in society as Bulamu considered me. It is my desire to become a Bulamu doctor someday. May God bless you, Bulamu!”