The joyous dancing of a five-year-old Afghan boy who received a prosthetic leg is warming the hearts of people around the world and highlighting the efforts of the Red Cross in the area.
Ahmad Sayeed Tahman is one of the many Afghans who have been impacted by the fighting between the government and the Taliban.
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Ahmad’s mother Rayeesa said the boy and his sister, who come from the province of Logar, were caught in the crossfire when Ahmad was just eight months old. Ahmad’s leg was amputated beneath the knee, while his sister recovered from her injuries.
He’ll need new prosthetics as he grows; the new leg he received is his fourth, his physiotherapist told AFP.
“He is always dancing and showing how happy he is to have an artificial leg,” Rayeesa said, according to AFP.
The video of Ahmad dancing — and wearing a brilliant smile — was shared on Twitter earlier this week by another physiotherapist and has been viewed over one million times.
According to the United Nations, over 3,800 civilians, including 900 children, have been killed in the conflict.
The International Committee for the Red Cross said over 12,000 people sought assistance from them in 2018. Over 22,000 prosthetic limbs were given out.
“The record number of Afghans seeking rehabilitation assistance is a reflection of the huge levels of need,” Alberto Cairo, ICRC’s physical rehabilitation program manager, said in a release.
“Even with all of the people we helped, we aren’t coming close to being able to assist everyone in need.”
Talks with the Taliban about ending Afghanistan‘s war are making steady but slow progress, the chief U.S. envoy involved in the negotiations said on Friday. The talks are in their sixth round but were reportedly cut short when a bomb was set off at the gate of the Counterpart International aid group’s office in Kabul.
—With files from Reuters