Syrian boy who lost leg learning to play soccer again - Make sure no one is left behind

as shared by...

Fourteen-year-old Youssef was playing by his house in Syria when he and his friends heard the whistle of an incoming missile. The children ran for the house but Youssef didn't make it. The bomb tore his right leg apart and he nearly bled to death. His father rushed across the border to a hospital in Jordan where doctors amputated his leg and saved his life. Luckily, he was referred to Handicap International, and our teams fit him with a new leg. HI Physical Therapist Saud is now teaching him to play his favorite sport, soccer, with his prosthetic. “It’s nearly like the old days,” says Youssef.

Watch this brave, articulate teenager talk about what happened the first time he kicked a soccer ball with his new leg in our latest YouTube video.

So far, thanks to the support of friends and donors like you, Handicap International has fitted more than 1,000 injured and disabled Syrians with prosthetics and orthotics.

 We've reached 180,000 vulnerable Syrians through this and other efforts in Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon.

However, many more Syrians still do not have the support and care they need to recover. A joint study by Handicap International and our partner HelpAge shows that hundreds of thousands of hidden refugees—the disabled, injured, and older people, are still being left out of the humanitarian response.

We’re doing our best to raise awareness among other organizations, governments, and the public so that a greater effort is made to provide the care these people who so desperately need it.

Please, help us spread the news by forwarding this email, or sharing out the Youssef's video on Facebook or Twitter.

Thanks!

 




Elizabeth MacNairn, Executive Director
Handicap International U.S. http://www.handicap-international.us/

P.S. You can read the full report here, on our website.