Request for help

This is Amos Mosea. We came across him when we were on holiday in South Africa. His story appeared in the Sunday newspaper and struck our hearts.

When he was 3 years old, he was playing in a field of corn (mealies) as it was being harvested. His legs were sliced off by the combine harvester and the picture here is when he was airlifted to the King Edward VIII hospital in Durban.

His left leg was sliced off at the ankle and his right leg below the knee. His legs were reattached surgically but because of complications, is right leg was amputated a few days later. He spent almost 7 months in hospital and survived almost complete failure of his lungs and kidneys because of the stress.

He is now fully recovered, and sports an artificial leg but as you can see it hasn't cramped his style. This is him skilfully dribbling a football on the field and successfully outplays most of his schoolmates. He says he wants to be a doctor when he grows up.

He doesn't remember much of the accident but does recall his mother crying at his bedside and he also "remembers the doctor taking his legs and putting them in a fridge." He said that "it was very sore but the pain is gone now".

The problem is that Amos's parents have disappeared now and he is cared for by a struggling relative during the holidays. Sponsorship promised by large corporations at the time of the accident never materialised and he needs funding to pay for his school fees, uniform and other clothes as well as living expenses.

He is at a special school called Harding Special School who have a web site at http://www.venturenet.co.za/~hss/index.html. The headmaster, Jonathan Simpson, says that Amos is a bright boy who doesn't let his disability get him down.

Amos's school fees are R350.00 a term which equates to around £35, and we sent enough money for a years schooling and hope to repeat it each year.

What I am asking is that if you have any spare money, no matter how small, let Amos have it. The school has set up a trust fund for him:

Bank: ABSA

Branch: Port Shepstone (33-41-28-41)

Account: 2120142049

Account Holder: Harding Special School (Make note on deposit slip: for Amos Mosea)

but to save the cost of exchanging Sterling for Rands, I am willing to receive it on his behalf and take it with me next time I go to RSA. Email me and I'll send you my home address if you haven't already got it.

Thanks for reading this - we want to help Amos all we can, I can appreciate what he has been through and how well he has done to get this far, but it will need a lot of money to get him through his medical training.