Hamza Arif is a tragic victim of childhood polio, a disease completely eradicated in the United States and other developed countries due to their excellent vaccination programs. But since Hamza was born in a poor village in Pakistan he was not lucky enough to be vaccinated against such a crippling yet preventable childhood disease. The polio resulted in deformation of Hamza's leg bones and left him crippled for life.
The House of Charity came across Hamza completely by accident. The executive director of The House of Charity Mrs. Hashmat Effendi was visiting a flea market in Haripur, a small village located in the Northern Frontier Region of Pakistan. She noticed a little boy sitting in a small pakora vendors shack, he was sitting close to a frying pan full of hot oil.
Mrs. Effendi was afraid the boy might get burned by the hot oil and requested him to move away from the pan, the boy did not respond and remained sitting in the same spot. This made Mrs. Effendi a little upset and she once again firmly asked the boy to move away, but he remained where he was.
The little boy's grandmother was close by and informed Mrs. Effendi that the boy was unable to walk and that is why he was not doing as told. That day Hamza had meet his angel and his luck changed for the better. A few months later Hamza was on his way to Houston, Texas to receive prosthetic legs.
After five years, thanks to the efforts of the staff at Muilenburg Prosthetics, Hamza was finally able to walk. Not only has The House of Charity made it possible for Hamza to walk for the first time, but we have also secured his financial future by providing funding for his education.
