We at Bread and Water for Africa® fear what would have happened to 7-year-old Usif when he was severely burned over 70 percent of his small body without the nearby Rokel Clinic where he received free treatment for his injuries.

Rev. Francis Mambu, executive director of our longtime partner Faith Healing Development Organization (FHDO) in Sierra Leone, told us the boy was brought to the clinic by his mother, an impoverished widow raising her children on her own.

“The burn extended to the chest, lower abdomen and his right and left thighs,” reported Rev. Mambu.

Initially, due to the severity of Usif’s burns, it was recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for care.

“However, the mother pleaded with the health care staff at the clinic that she had no money to pay for the treatment if she took him to the hospital,” said Rev. Mambu.

So the staff at the Rokel Clinic was sympathetic to her and her son’s plight and agreed to provide treatment for Usif, and we are pleased to report from Rev. Mambu that within about three weeks of being cared for at the clinic “the boy was completely healed.”

Thanks to the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa® we were able to provide grant funding and ship medicines and medical supplies and equipment to FHDO for use to help keep the Rokel Clinic’s doors open for people like Usif and his mother who otherwise would go without treatment – even for a little boy with large burns who desperately needed medical care.

The clinic treats thousands of impoverished Sierra Leoneans every year providing basic health care services, reduces the area’s child and mother mortality rates, and provides knowledge to the community on health issues, mainly catering to the vulnerable, especially infants and children up to age 5 and women, particularly pregnant and lactating mothers.

And we shudder to think about what would have happened to little Usif if the Rokel Clinic was not there to treat him, and  potentially saving his life.

“His mother was full of joy as she left the clinic with her son,” said Rev. Mambu.  “She thanked the Almighty God for saving her son’s life, and also the supporters of Bread and Water for Africa® for sponsoring the Rokel Clinic.”