Rebecca Dumeh Models to Raise Funds and Awareness for Wardenburg Syndrome
- Rebecca Chogtaa Dumeh is a five-year-old child with Wardenburg Syndrome type II
- Wardenburg Syndrom is a rare genetic condition that occurs once in every 42,000 births and has distinctive features
- Dumeh has piercing blue eyes and was born deaf and mute due to the condition - however her spirit is huge
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Born with a rare genetic condition called Wardenburg Syndrome, Rebecca Chogtaa Dumeh has blue eyes, was born deaf and couldn't speak.
The rare genetic condition occurs only once in every 42,000 births and the distinctive features are quite striking.
Dumeh, whose story went viral two years ago, turned five years old in March.
Source: UGC
At age three, Dumeh needed surgery and other therapy to treat her rare condition.
The Afi Antonio Foundation and Foundation for Children with Hearing Loss in South Africa raised funds to perform cochlear implant surgery for her and through speech therapy enabled her to hear and develop speech.
The charity collaborated to raise $34k (around R483k) to perform one ear procedure and pay for her living expenses for six months in South Africa. The surgery was done on only one ear because the two charities could not raise the $50k (R710k) amount needed for both ears then.
Dumeh is in school and the foundation is hopeful that they'll be able to raise the rest of the money for her surgery and continue with therapy.
Despite her condition, Dumeh has turned her lemons into lemonade and become an advocate, modelling to raise funds for her surgery and to help create awareness for people with her condition.
To support raise funds for Dumeh's surgery, contact @afiantonio on all social media platforms.
Briefly News also reported that a young boy identified as Hope who was abandoned on the streets of Eket in Nigeria and found by Anja Ringgren Loven has had his whole life transformed four years after.
Mirror reports that when the boy’s photo showing his malnourished body surfaced in 2016, the whole world was disgusted by his suffering. Anja, the founder of a charity organisation DINNødhjæl, said the boy was in a very bad state when he was rescued by her organisation.
She went ahead to note that the boy’s chances of surviving the multiple diseases he had were very dicey as he was hospitalised for weeks. It should be noted that Anja has helped many children like Hope with her charity. Since Hope was rescued, he has received a good education and fed well, care that saw him transform into a lively-looking and strong child.
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Source: Briefly News
Kelly Lippke (Senior Editor) Kelly Lippke is a copy editor/proofreader who started her career at the Northern-Natal Courier with a BA in Communication Science/Psychology (Unisa, 2007). Kelly has worked for several Caxton publications, including the Highway Mail and Northglen News. Kelly’s unique editing perspective stems from an additional major in Linguistics. Kelly joined Briefly News in 2018 and she has 14 years of experience. Kelly has also passed a set of trainings by Google News Initiative. You can reach her at kelly.lippke@briefly.co.za.
Marilynn Manuel I am an experienced journalist with a keen interest in helping people tell their stories and writing content that inspires readers. When I’m not in front of my laptop producing viral articles for my publication, I find myself submerged in a fitness routine or trying new wellness smoothies. When I need some down time, I find that devouring a good book is equally as satisfying as reaching my health goals. Above all, I am a mom to a cute baby boy.
