Everything changed with a simple request, “Could I please have some books for school?”  Jespa Awomah, a 16 year old boy from a small village in Cameroon, just so happened to be asking this donation of Rebecca Akumbu, the sister of Ruth Akumbu, founder of the Plant A Seed Foundation.  This chance encounter would forever change the course of Jespa’s young life.

Jespa, the middle child in a family of 14, was unfortunately the victim of a kitchen house fire as a infant, leaving him with disfiguring facial and limbal third degree burns.  As common to the region, the parents and eldest siblings must leave home to work, leaving childcare responsibilities to young siblings.  Without adequate supervision, 10 month old Jespa fell into the cooking fire, only to be rescued minutes later very badly burned.

It wasn’t only Jespa’s disfigured appearance that caught Rebecca’s attention, but his humility and gentle spirit that prompted her to take action.  Through the Plant A Seed Foundation and the Children’s Burn Foundation, Jespa received the miraculous opportunity to travel to Los Angeles to be treated by specialist at Torrance Memorial Burn Center.  This journey inevitably led Jespa to Ocular Prosthetics, Inc. where we received a custom-made ocular prosthesis by board certified ocularist Sarah Haddad, B.C.O.

Sarah and the board certified ocularist team are proud to be a positive part of such a heartwarming story.  Jespa has a bright future ahead of him, one he will undoubtedly approach with a new confidence!  To learn more about the foundations involved please follow the links below for more information.

Plant A Seed –  www.pas.herokuapp.com

Children’s Burn Foundation – www.childburn.org

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