In Uganda, Promise is now living life like any other child

Promise Nshimiryo, 10, lives with his parents and six brothers and sisters in Nakivale refugee settlement, one Uganda’s oldest and largest refugee settlements situated in the south-west of the country. His family is originally from Rwanda but they were forced to flee their home country and seek refuge in Uganda.

An accident that changed everything

In East Africa, climbing and falling from mango trees is almost a rite of passage for young children. But one day, what for Promise was just another game ended in tragedy. The little boy was just 7 when he fell from a tree and broke his left elbow. It was this accident that led him to HI where the rehabilitation team provided him with much-needed care as part of the EU-funded INCLUDE III project. His father recounts: 

"My child was born without any physical disabilities; he was born at full term and went through all the stages of his life in good health until this fall... I remember him crying a lot for the first three days, complaining of severe pain, and his left forearm was badly swollen."

After that, the little boy could only sleep on his other side and couldn’t use his left arm  to wash, get dressed, brush his teeth or hair, or for activity of any kind. Because he received no treatment after the accident, his pain went on for four months until, one day, his parents took him to Basecamp to see a traditional healer who was able to "mend bones". Although the healer couldn’t help Promise regain his range of movement, he did help to ease the boy's pain.

A few months later, in 2023, Promise's parents took him to the Ruhoko III health centre, where he was referred to the Mbarara regional hospital for an orthopaedic examination. The medical teams took him for an X-ray and the results showed that his fracture was not healing. In October of the same year, HI’s rehabilitation team met Promise at Nyakagando School during an exercise to identify children in need of care organised as part of the EU-funded INCLUDE III project. After meeting the little boy, HI’s occupational therapist recommended orthopaedic surgery. This took place in May 2024!

An end to years of pain

After his operation, HI’s occupational therapist continued working with Promise and the results were impressive! Within a few months, Promise was once again able to write, lift objects and wash himself. He tells us, proudly:

"Before HI came to my rescue, I couldn't use my hand at all, I couldn't do anything. Now I can use both hands and I can play all the games with my friends without feeling excluded! I'd like to thank HI for their help; today I'm doing very well thanks to them. I hope that others who have the same problems as me will meet them so that they can get help too!"

Today, Promise is at school and he is still benefitting from the support of an occupational therapist to improve the range of movement of his elbow and his fine motor skills for writing, for example. They are also working together on his self-confidence so that he can feel more at ease with those around him.