Six-year-old Abdul Moiwa's infectious smile reflects his positive spirit and determination. He sustained traumatic brain injury when he was four months old after he was ejected from a vehicle in an accident that claimed his mother's life. Doctors didn't expect him to live.
He did. However, partial paralysis made it difficult to crawl -- he didn't walk until his was four and a half.
Abdul's father doesn't know where he gets such strong self-determination.
"I hear him say, 'No I can do this by myself; I can do this,'" Sahr Moiwa said. "He doesn't like anybody to do anything for him. It doesn't matter how long it takes him. He keeps his focus on that."
Abdul has now inspired his family and friends to establish a foundation bearing his name to provide financial help to others facing similar conditions.
The initial focus will be Sierra Leone, his parents' native country, where years of civil war left scores of victims without limbs and the cost of medical care is prohibitive.
"There are other kids in Sierra Leone, in Africa, in Europe and all around the world who are going through the same thing like Abdul did and don't have the kind of opportunity that Abdul had," Alex Kamara, vice president on the Abdul Miracle Disabled Children's Foundation, said.
His team of therapists says Abdul's progress is the result of determination and spunk, never giving up when others might.
"He wanted to do everything that all the other kids were doing; he always watched them and whenever he saw someone else walking, he wanted to walk, too," physical therapist Renee Cortise said. "He worked really hard."
For more information, contact:
Abdul Miracle Disabled Children's Foundation
1702-L Meridian Ave., #322
San Jose, CA 95125-5586
Call toll-free: 855-644-3485
