Nigerian mother of two Crystal Chigbu wept for days after her daughter was born with a rare limb condition that doctors said needed an amputation. She was not so sure.
But as her daughter Beulah grew and started asking why she could not walk like her friends, the parents had to make the hard decision to amputate the girl’s leg and fit her with a prosthesis.
After hearing other parents talk about their experiences, Crystal started Irede Foundation, an organization that recycles prosthesis and donate them to children in need in Nigeria.
Beulah Chigbu, Crystal Chigbu’s daughter and the one who inspired her to start the Irede Foundation, reads a book while wearing a leg prosthesis in her home in Lagos, Nigeria.
Crystal Chigbu, founder and executive director of the Irede Foundation, speaks to the media during an interview in her office in Lagos, Nigeria, and said she was inspired by her daughter. She said as a mother what can l do to put a smile on my daughter’s face.
She got support also from Gideon Oladele, a Nigerian artificial limb technician, who assists Basit Quazeem as he practices walking for the first time using a prosthesis at the Irede Foundation.
