Pageant appeal has raised £868 for Modou Lamin's new prosthetic leg
 

Modou Lamin J is now seven years old. (It is Pageant's policy not to use children's last names to protect their privacy) In 2007, his head teacher at Jambanjelly (or Jambanjali) Nursery School recommended him to Pageant for sponsorship, and in February 2008 Rachel Day and her husband Kevin decided to sponsor Modou Lamin's education. When Ian and Pippa visited the school in February 2009, they took sets of England football shirts that Rachel and Kevin had donated for the two school teams to use. You can see the teams in their new strip below left - yes girls are enthusiastic footballers too! However, Modou Lamin had a particular problem which stopped him taking an active part in football. He was born with a badly deformed right leg, which meant that he got about on his knees. Nevertheless, he sometimes played in goal for his class team, so Rachel and Kevin gave Modou Lamin a special shirt with his name on the back.

Modou Lamin

Jambanjelly football teams in their new strip	Modou Lamin's special shirt

Mr Douglas Sammon FRCS is a retired orthopaedic surgeon, who used to work at Yorkhill Sick Children's Hospital in Glasgow. He has been very active helping children in various parts of Africa, and has carried out many operations on Mercy Ships, which are essentially floating hospitals.

Douglas first examined Modou Lamin’s X-rays in 2009. Modou Lamin's right leg was permanently bent at the knee, with a wedge of tissue between his upper and lower leg which prevented it being straightened. Modou Lamin also has a deformed right hand, with only two fingers and a thumb, but this doesn't seem to inconvenience him in any way.

Douglas decided that it wasn't possible to restore normal function to the leg, and the best option was to amputate through the knee, and fit a prosthetic leg. Modou Lamin was advised that he should start to use his good leg properly as soon as possible in order to strengthen it. The school and his parents took this advice and got the crutches for him, which he learnt to use very quickly.

Douglas visited The Gambia in February 2010 and Pippa took him to meet and personally examine Modou Lamin for the first time. He then made an appointment with Dr Hani, of the Orthopaedic Department in the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in Banjul to discuss the possibility of an operation on Modou Lamin's leg. Following these discussions Dr Hani performed the operation with great success, and Modou Lamin has made an excellent recovery.

Douglas has looked at photos of Modou Lamin's leg taken several weeks after the operation and is very encouraged by his progress. The next stage will be fitting a prosthetic leg. The Social Welfare Service, based beside the hospital, has a limb fitting department. They may require a contribution to the cost of materials, and the family will certainly require help with the logistics and the costs of multiple appointments for Modou for limb-fitting and physiotherapy.

In May 2010 Pageant launched an appeal to pay for these costs, with a target of £700. We are pleased to announce that your donations exceeded our expectations, with a total of £868 raised. Modou Lamin is soon going to the clinic to get his new leg fitted. We are closing this appeal for the moment and thank everyone for their generosity. We may re-open the appeal in the future as Modou Lamin grows and needs more prosthetic treatment. Meanwhile we will use this page to keep you updated on Modou Lamin's progress.

Update February 2011

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Sad news about Modou Lamin's friend Lamin J

Lamin J, a 13 year old boy from the North Bank region, had a similar operation at the same time as Modou Lamin, and they became friends. We put Lamin J on our sponsorship page, in the hope of finding a sponsor to help in his difficult time at school. We have just received the sad news that Lamin has died following a fall which re-opened the wound on his stump. This became infected and was not treated early enough.

Lamin J	Nuha J

And some good news for another friend...

Nuha J is another young boy who was at Jambanjelly Nursery School, and is now at Lower Basic School. He befriended Modou Lamin, and has helped him enormously through difficult times. Nuha is also from a poor family, who found it difficult to afford the school fees. We therefore put Nuha on our sponsorship page, and we are pleased to report that he found a sponsor. He will now be able to continue attending school, and help to support Modou Lamin.

Update May 2011 - Modou Lamin making excellent progress

Our original appeal aimed to raise £700 for the cost of materials and multiple appointments for limb-fitting, physiotherapy and associated expenses. Your generosity meant that we exceeded DOUBLE that amount, ensuring that Modou Lamin now has medical and physio support assured for several years to come. He is now in Grade 1 at Jambanjelly Lower Basic School. When Pippa went to the school in February 2011 he walked unaided across the classroom and told her that he had been playing football the previous afternoon. He is a very determined little boy.

Modou Lamin and Nuha
	Modou Lamin outside the school So a HUGE THANK-YOU to all who sent a donation for Modou Lamin's new leg. We would also like to take this opportunity of thanking Douglas Sammon for his continued support. He is still in contact with the doctors and prosthetic clinicians at the Royal Victoria Teaching Hospital in Banjul and sent out a box of child-sized prosthetic parts in February 2011, for which the Banjul clinic was very grateful.
child-sized prosthetic parts

Pageant is a UK Charity - Registered No 1093963

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