A TAUNTON woman who set up a project to help disadvantaged children in Africa is calling on residents to help 13-year-old Tina.
Rosie Watts visited Ghana several years ago and set up a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) called Helping Paul, named after a child called Paul who she met at an orphanage in Kumasi.
READ MORE: Taunton teenager launches Helping Paul project after inspiring trip to Ghana
The project then became Family First - Ghana, which supports families who have children with disabilities and complex medical needs.
Rosie, who currently lives in Taunton, has organised a fundraiser for Tina alongside two other organisations - The Childhood Tumour Trust (CTT) and Linfa Neurofibromatosi.
They are trying to raise £10,000 to help Tina, who has Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), which causes tumours to grow along nerves, as well as several other complications.
This has caused a large tumour on her face, and she is likely to lose her sight without specialist treatment.
"Tina has never been allowed to go to school, as she would ‘scare’ the other children," said Rosie.
"I have organised for her to be tutored privately and have set up social opportunities with a few friends from her local area.
"I am working alongside Childhood Tumour Trust (a UK registered charity) to fundraise for Tina to access specialist medical care in Italy and to save her vision and improve her quality of life in Ghana.
"This fundraiser is crucial to get Tina the life changing medical care that she needs to save her vision and for her to reach her full potential in Ghana.
"A specialist surgeon from Ghana will travel with Tina to Italy, she will learn how to care for Tina and will gain as much training as possible from the Italian NF1 specialists to bring back to West Africa.
"I am excited about the wider benefits that this special campaign for Tina will have for Ghana’s healthcare system.
"By building a bridge between the Italian NF specialists and the Ghanaian medical professionals, we hope that Ghana can develop a multidisciplinary team supporting not only Tina, but also many others living with NF1 in West Africa."
After 18 months of tutoring, Tina is now confident with Maths, reading and writing and speaking English.
If you would like to donate to help Tina, visit gofundme.com/f/help-save-tinas-sight.
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