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Matilde Simas, USA

Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss

Accidents, diseases, genetic defects, natural and man-made disasters: there are many reasons why around 100 million children worldwide have to grow up with physical disabilities, with missing, underdeveloped or destroyed limbs. CURE, a Christian non-profit organization from Canada, began building hospitals for such children in Kenya in 1998. They did so in Africa and Asia, but also with partner hospitals in Haiti, for example.

Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 1 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 2 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 3 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 4 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 5 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 6 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 7 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 8 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 9 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 10 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 11 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 12 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation
Philippines, Ethiopia, Haiti: Bringing mobility to children with limb loss
Bild 13 von 13 © Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation

There, in the Philippine capital Manila and in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Matilde Simas portrayed children who are being fitted with prosthetic limbs and learning to stand up and walk. Among them are very little girls and boys, only five, six or seven years old. Children who are even able to play football or dance at the end of their training. You don’t have to look hard to see their new potential for future happiness. And confidence.

Photographer: Matilde Simas, USA, for Limb Kind Foundation

Portrait: Matilde Simas
© Matilde Simas

Matilde Simas, born in 1973, lives in Boston. She graduated from Suffolk University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and studied digital photography at the Rhode Island School of Design. Her focus as a filmmaker and photographer is on human rights, especially on the situation of girls and women, including issues such as child labor and child sexual exploitation.

Simas works for civic groups and various UN agencies, among others; she has traveled to about 50 countries and has been a member of Capture Humanity since 2017. She was also awarded an honorable mention in the UNICEF Photo of the Year 2019.