In 2005, Asubuhi (pronounced Ah-suh-boo-ee) and his mother traveled on foot from rural Tanzania, to seek treatment at the Village Life Outreach Project (VLOP) field clinic. The boy had sustained a severe burn to his scalp almost a year earlier when he got too close to the cooking fire inside his family�s hut. He received a skin graft a few months after the injury, but the graft never healed, leaving him with an open wound on his scalp, according to Christopher Lewis, M.D., president of VLOP.

The VLOP team arranged for care at a Tanzanian hospital where Asubuhi received more skin grafts to his head. With no way to contact the family when they returned to their village, the hospital had to discharge Asubuhi without any plans for follow-up care.

The team returned to Asubuhi�s village in October 2006 hoping to find that his wound had healed. The team was shocked by what they saw. �He had lost weight and had an open, infected scalp wound,� recalls Dr. Lewis. �It was devastating to see him in such a condition. We knew he needed urgent medical care that would only be available in the United States.�

Brad Jackson, M.D., president of the Cincinnati Medical Association, was traveling with VLOP on that return visit. �Once I saw Asubuhi, I knew that without medical care he would probably die,� said Dr. Jackson. �I knew a collaborative effort was needed to save this child�s life.�

The physicians contacted staff at Shriners Hospitals for Children � Cincinnati to see if they could provide the medical treatment needed to heal Asubuhi�s wound. Children�s Medical Mission assisted in making travel arrangements.

Asubuhi, now 4 years old, arrived in Cincinnati in July. He�s been evaluated by the burn team at Shriners Hospital, with plans for surgery within the month. Shriners� physicians are optimistic about his recovery and hope the boy can return home by October. Asubuhi will stay with a host family in the Cincinnati area while he is receiving outpatient care at Shriners.