A New Prothetic Leg For Figgy

This is Steve Kelley, many of you know about my pal Figgy, who I first met in Leogane, Haiti six years ago. We were running a basketball camp there and the first day this 13-year-old boy, who was missing his right leg (lost it in the 2010 earthquake), sped past us on the court, using a crutch in place of a right leg to begin our first drill. He is one of those kids you instantly fall in love with. He participated in all of the drills every day. He played in the games. He had the most magical crossover dribble I’d ever seen (sorry Jamal Crawford).

When I returned from the trip, I went on, what I thought was a Quixotic quest to find Figgy a prosthetic. I didn’t mention anything to him. But thanks to a Seattle NGO, Mobility Outreach International we got him one. We met Figgy and his grandfather in Cap Haitian. They had traveled 6 hours by bus (not exactly a Greyhound Luxury coach). There was never a complaint about how arduous the trip was.

We spent a few days together. He got the prosthetic, went back home, graduated high school and now is at a university in Port Au Prince. He’s still playing basketball, but recently his prosthesis broke. He wrote to me asking for help, saying he wants to continue hooping and wants to be able to get around campus without a crutch. I’ve been exchanging messages with his prosthetist at Haiti Reh-Care and was told he needs about $2,000 for the new prosthetic.

Figgy’s a great young man, smart and engaging, hard working and highly motivated. We’ve stayed in close touch through phone calls and emails and pictures since that first day of basketball camp.

I’m asking for your help with raising the money so this remarkable guy can get the prosthetic leg he deserves. Thank you!