Emmanuel’s life changed forever when he lost his mother, and then his father only a few years later. At an age when most children are protected from responsibility, Emmanuel became the head of his household. He was still in primary school when he took on the role of caregiver for his younger brothers and sister.

Every morning, Emmanuel walked more than two hours to reach school. Education mattered to him, but school also meant survival — it was the only place where the children could receive a meal. Home was a small, dark hut hidden among banana trees, without windows, beds, or basic security. What little they had was shared carefully, day by day.

As if loss and poverty were not enough, Emmanuel lived with a serious hip deformity. One leg was shorter than the other, placing constant pressure on his spine and causing daily pain. Without surgery, his condition would have worsened, eventually leaving him unable to walk. For Emmanuel, surgery was not a distant dream — it was something that simply did not exist in his world.

Yet he endured quietly. Not because he was strong by nature, but because his siblings depended on him. Emmanuel did not have the option to give up.

That reality is what led to the creation of the Fund for Emmanuel — to offer medical care, dignity, and the chance for a future where a child does not have to carry the weight of an entire family alone.