A little girl was badly disfigured when a wild animal ate half her face, but MAF has flown a plastic surgeon to begin the long task of repairing the damage.
The most severe pictures of Neema’s injuries are too graphic to be shown.
Just a few weeks ago, the three-year-old’s face was torn apart in a vicious hyena attack as she sheltered from the rain in a hut in her rural Tanzanian village.
But reconstructive surgeon Dr Maher Anous has started to bring hope and healing when he flew with MAF from Arusha to a hospital in the Tanzanian capital Dodoma, to operate on the little girl.
The first phase is the beginning of many surgeries as the experienced specialist tries to help Neema have a chance of leading a normal life as she grows up.
The horrific attack was a brutal example of the dangers for isolated communities, where people live among the kind of wild animals that attract international tourists for safaris.
“Neema went out, it started to rain, she went into a hut and fell asleep,” Dr Maher said.
“The villagers heard the dogs barking, but the dogs were afraid to enter the hut. That’s when they went in and found the hyena attacking Neema.”
Neema’s extreme injuries require Dr Maher’s skill and expertise in microsurgery, since the procedure will involve skin grafts and reattaching blood vessels.
“I saw Neema in Dodoma (where she was transferred) and her mother is very young,” he said.
“The danger is that she becomes a burden for her family. She has lost one eye and half her face.”
Neema’s mother Juliana is 22 and she admits it is a struggle being away from their home in Lalaji in the Manyara region to get treatment for her daughter, the second of her three children.
Juliana said, on the day of the incident, Neema was one of five children in the care of their grandmother, who went out to get flour for cooking.
"When she returned, she was met with shouts of terror, and the hyena was chewing off her eye region,” Juliana said.
Despite the scale of the task, Dr Maher is confident he can rebuild Neema’s face, but he admitted, “The kind of surgeries she needs are not common in Tanzania.”
MAF pilot Mark Liprini was able to fly the doctor to Dodoma in just one hour, 40 minutes. The alternative would be a drive of six and half to seven hours, or a commercial flight that would require an overnight connection in Dar Es Salaam.
Stewart Ayling, director of MAF’s programme in Tanzania, said the team were glad to be able to transport Dr Maher to perform the first stage of surgery.
“We heard about Neema and we have been praying for her and Dr Maher,” he said.
“Our aircraft goes from our base in Arusha to Dodoma where it will pick up the Kilimatinde Safari team who will be bringing healthcare to the villages of Mahaka, Chidudu and Dabia.
“This is part of our plan for the Kilimatinde Safari, that these flights can be used to help meet other medical needs.
This is part of our plan for the Kilimatinde Safari, that these flights can be used to help meet other medical needs.
“Everybody wanted to support what the doctor was doing. It’s part of our role as MAF that we provide connections between people. If we all work together, we can all make a better outcome.”
Dr Maher made his name as a plastic surgeon in the United States, owning a practice in Beverly Hills but wanted a change from simply “making beautiful people more beautiful”. He chose to move to East Africa where he is making a difference by using his skills in general surgery.
“Her case is one of the worst I’ve seen, it’s indiscriminate destruction,” he explained.
“This will be the new norm for her and, at this age, she will grow up with no real recollection of what happened.
“My wife Candi (she’s my nurse) and I, we took a doll and toys to distract her. When I see a patient, I’m all business. I’ve spent my life doing this and it’s an attitude I have acquired.
“I’m 71 years old and I should be retired, but here’s this three-year-old who needs my skills.”
The first phase involving soft tissue expanders insertion has been successful. The next visit, likely in April, will be the major surgery, 12 to 15 hours long, when Dr Maher and his team will tackle all aspects of Neema’s damaged face simultaneously.
