Aliyatu Moro, a 15-year-old girl who lives in the Nkenkasu district in Ghana, wakes up at 4:30 every day to make her morning prayer. She lives with her parents, grandparents and five siblings. The mother and children live in a separate room from the father, and distant relatives occupy the rest of the house.
She loves playing with her younger siblings in the house, but she is only able to do so from a wheelchair. She was paralyzed from an injection when she was just a year old. She cannot walk, and she has never attended school, but she is a beneficiary of Zakat Foundation of America’s livestock program, allowing her family to be self-reliant.
The Zakat Foundation of America gave Aliyatu her first wheelchair in 2004 after a country representative spotted her sitting near a well by a local mosque. The wheelchair broke down eight years later, so a second one was bought for her in 2012, and a third was given to her in 2015 that allows her to peddle herself, providing exercise for her limbs.
She was given two sheep in December 2015 as a gift, and her parents helped her take care of them. Both sheep have since delivered, and she now has four. The family is hopeful the number will increase and help them economically, as they can sell the sheep for income during difficult times.
Aliyatu’s father said Zakat Foundation of America’s support has helped him greatly, as he had to sell his livestock (both cattle and sheep) to take care of his daughter.
“Your continuous support has really relieved me of a great burden,” Aliyatu’s father said.
Aliyatu’s family is trying to save money to pay a teacher to come to her home. They are also saving up for knee pads that she can use to crawl when her wheelchair is unavailable or unusable.
Zakat Foundation of America started its program of identifying vulnerable children in 2004. Donate at Zakat.org today to help empower those who find themselves in unfortunate situations like Aliyatu’s.