Meet Gabriella and Daniella. These two girls are the daughters of one of my best friends in Uganda, Elite. Over a year ago, Daniella stepped on a pile of burning rubbish and her foot/toes all melted together. Seeing the distress Elite was experiencing because of this, on top of being a single mom, the hardest working teacher at my former school, my co-librarian eager to learn computers, and (unknowningly at the time) also pregnant af, I mentioned this little girl's story to an angel named Anne (who also spoiled me with cookies and real showers when away from site). Anne, coincidentally with two beautiful girls of her own, connected Daniella's family with CORSU, an incredible children's hospital in Uganda. After many months, check-ups, and Daniella feeling very ashamed to ever expose her foot in public, I can happily say that this lil girl has toes now! The surgery was a success and she's healing very well right now! Anne helped Daniella and her family get to the hospital (where they offer free surgeries in many cases for children) and I just got to check-in and emotionally support them along the way. I couldn't be happier to see Elite, Daniella, Gabriella, and their grandmother have a load off their backs and a little brighter smile each day knowing Daniella isn't suffering anymore. Cheers to Elite for being a badass mother, Daniella and Gabriella for being (this year) some of my two most energetic pupils (nursery and P1), and baby Ayiko (who Elite has named after myself and Harrison annnnd made Harrison The Godfather!). And most especially, cheers to Anne for changing this family's present and future for the better. As Daniella excitedly declared, "I HAVE TOES NOW." -- oh, and the video is a poem Daniella wrote for me. She incorporated some of our P1 English vocabulary lessons from Term 1 in there, too. I'm pretty lucky to have inspirational friends and role models like Elite and Anne (and poets to learn from like G and D!).🌻🇺🇬⭐️ #peacecorps #corsuhospital #yaytoes #howiseepc #mytinyatlas #vscocam #canon #family #lipstickqueens #chompingthegum #uganda
