My name is Lauren Richards and I have been travelling to Kenya since 2013 as part of the Rams in Kenya trip ran by Derby County Community Trust. Please continue to read about an amazing boy who needs our help.

Samuel is a bright and bubbly 7 year old boy, who has had a challenging start to his life in the world.

During the first year of his life, his mum left him due to his physical differences and not knowing how to support him. This left him in the care of his grandmother, who also took on his older sister. His older sister is now 18 with a baby and is the day to day guardian of Samuel. His grandmother is struggling to make ends meet and works as much as she can to support herself and her two grandchildren.

Over the past week, myself and other volunteers have had such positive interactions with Samuel and he does not allow his physical differences to stop him from joining in with the others. He is a superstar! Our volunteers noticed that his boots looked ill fitted and that there could be a medical condition which affects his feet and/or legs.

After a discussion with Valentine the director of the school, she invited both Samuel’s sister and grandma into school to talk through his condition. Samuel’s grandma told us the Samuel should have had an operation previously but the family could not afford it. When asked if she would like some help, she said, “Yes. If I had wings, I would be flying due to being so happy that someone is able to help.”

Samuel has underdeveloped legs, a ball shape for a foot on his right foot and a potential club foot on his left.

Samuel’s story is absolutely heartbreaking and we want to change this boy’s life and give him the best start for the next stage of his life. We have already paid for Samuel to have a consultation with a doctor, and they completed some tests. He needs a surgery which can be done as early as one month away. He needs orthopaedic boots immediately to support him to walk more easily and safely.

It is highly likely that Samuel will need more than one operation and support with rehabilitation. This is not something the family can access without support. As time progresses, he will continue to need new orthopaedic boots.

Today, volunteers have also noticed that Samuel has half a finger missing on his left hand and also two fingers fused together on his right hand. We want to be able to help Samuel as best we can to give him the best future.

With your donations, we will be able to give Samuel the same feeling his grandma had when we offered support.

Donate and help us to change this beautiful boy’s life forever.

28.5.25 - A very big thank you to those who have donated so far. Samuel has been back to the hospital and has been given a splint and orthopaedic boots to give him further support. He is learning to walk in this new way and now says he wants to become a doctor when he is older.