Yohanes

Yohanes is four years old, he lives in Harar with his Mother, Father and baby sister. Eight months prior to the Project Harar Complex Surgical Mission Yohanes was attacked by a Hyena as he travelled home with his mother and sister.

Yohanes' mother described how she was walking with her youngest child on her back when the hyena came up behind them and snatched Yohanes away. She told us how where they live in the city hyenas are relatively tame and are rarely aggressive towards humans, around their house they had cut back vegetation so hyenas would not be able to hide and hunt. 

A passer-by managed to wrestle Yohanes out of the Hyena's mouth. Yohanes' father is part of the military, so they were able to receive some treatment at the military hospital in Addis. However, the extensive injuries left ongoing deformities to the bones, soft tissues and skin of his face and his left eye unable to open.

Further assessment by Project Harar in manually opening his left eye thankfully demonstrated that his vision and ocular movements remained intact. Yohanes underwent reconstructive surgery to reposition the bones, soft tissues and skin of his face, particularly around the cheek and eye socket regions. This included repositioning the left eye and its socket, with the hope that he will be able to open and close this eye in the future. 

Yohanis will be left with scars on his face, but as he grows they will become less noticeable. Like any four year old, Yohanes enjoys colouring and playing footbal. We will catch up with Yohannes in the future, to assess when he will be able to receive further treatment, in the meantime, we hope that his time amongst the other children on the complex mission will help him accept his scars as he grows older.