Elissa Montani Of Global Medical Relief Fund Helps Kids Crippled By War, Disaster
Wa'ad, a 9-year-old from Iraq, was just being a kid when his life changed. He was out walking and casually began kicking around a bottle on the roadside. It turned out to be a bomb that shattered his face and took his right arm and left leg.
Now, one woman, Elissa Montani, is working to help make Wa'ad whole again. Her organization, Global Medical Relief Fund, brings children hurt in the crossfires of war or debilitated in a disaster to the U.S. for treatment, CBS reports.
Wa'ad recently began facial reconstruction at a hospital in Long Island, N.Y. He was able to walk into the hospital on his new prosthetic leg he received at Shriners in Philadelphia.
Based in Staten Island, N.Y., Montani recruits doctors and charities to volunteer treatment -- out of her walk-in closet that's been converted into an office. She tells CBS she uses a simple approach.
"I tell 'em this true story. Here's a child that's battered. I just tell them the reality. I expect them to help. I'm grateful 'cause they don't have to help. But I expect that they would, because how could you not?"
Montani has little money herself and no training in humanitarian relief. She began her work raising money to buy school supplies for kids in Bosnia in 1996. Since then, she has worked to give 100 children back their youth.
WATCH:
Help kids like Wa'ad by clicking below to donate to Global Medical Relief Fund.
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First Posted: 03/28/11 03:57 PM ET Updated: 05/28/11 06:12 AM ET