It is surely because it occurs mainly in sub-Saharan Africa that the dreadful Noma disease is virtually unknown in the West.
This terrible disease, which is also called "disease of the poor" because it is favored by malnutrition, yet affects nearly 140,000 children a year!
Deadly in 90% of cases, it leaves those who survive totally disfigured...
"Give a human face" to the victims of the disease
To make the daily lives of these little victims more bearable, the humanitarian association “Sourire un jour” offers them – free of charge!
– plastic surgery operations.
"But it's not just about operating on them," says surgeon Ali Bourji, co-founder of the association.
We give a human face to our young patients and then accompany them until they return to their village, because their infirmity means that they are excluded from society”.
The dad of little Priscille, who benefited from this plastic reconstruction, says he is very grateful: “It started with a button on the level of the cheek which became a hole on his face, he remembers.
But thanks to the operation, she can now eat alone and above all go to school, whereas we didn't dare send her there before because her classmates made fun of her”.
Discover the great work of Doctor Bourji and his association in this video from our partner Brut.
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