Daniel's Story

Four years ago, a small bundle was left on top of a rubbish heap in Kenya. For a while, everything was still. When the bundle started to move, it caught the attention of a dog rummaging through the trash nearby. By the time the baby was found, the dog had eaten away half of his face.

That baby was Daniel.  Daniel has no left ear, no left cheek, part of his mouth is missing and some of his toes are gone. The hospital kept Daniel cramped in a small cot for ten months after discovering him.

They fought off infection after infection while trying to find his family. Eventually, his legs curved like bows and his arms became nearly useless.

That's when the hospital took him to the Feed The Children Abandoned Baby Centre outside Nairobi, Kenya. At the Centre, Daniel received the nutrition, care and attention he needed—including essential medical attention.

The therapists at the ABC Centre designed a programme to help Daniel learn to walk, run and catch up to other children his age. He underwent surgeries to help repair his torn face, but the first skin grafts were too small and did not take.

For Daniel, the chance to have a normal life—the chance to grow up just like all of his little friends—hinged on him having additional surgeries to repair the damage to his face.

This spring, thanks to the generosity of a crania-facial surgeon in Houston, Texas, Daniel had that chance. This generous doctor grafted skin and bone to rebuild Daniel's face - today his grafted skin is soft, and will grow with him. 

Daniel will need further surgery, to remove a skin expander.

Thanks to Feed The Children's many generous supporters, Daniel is a lively, loving little boy with a bright future. 

How Daniel's surgery was reported in Houston, Texas. Includes a short video clip.