Hearts go out to young victim of a shack fire

THE life of 16-year-old Martin Aloisius is about to change once again, but this time for the better.When he was only seven days old, the shack in which he and his family were living caught fire and his face, arms and hands were severely burnt.

In 2001 he was sent to the School for the Visually Impaired in Windhoek, as he was going blind. The fire had damaged his eyes and destroyed his eyelids.Because he could not close his eyes, they deteriorated even further.In 2001, Martin met Caroline Vogel and Annika Maschwitz, two students from Germany who did volunteer work at the school.With his light-hearted and friendly nature, he quickly crept into their hearts and they knew that they had to help him.They started a fundraising drive in Germany, sending out hundreds of e-mails calling for donations.In 2002, they had enough money to have the first reconstructive surgery done in Windhoek.Doctors gave Martin new lips and eyelids.His sight is still deteriorating and he is not able to read Braille because of the damage to his hands.Once again, Vogel and Maschwitz decided to help and have now raised funds for further reconstructive and eye surgery.Martin will undergo skin grafts to his face, arms and hands.The eye operation will save the little sight he has left and the operation to his hands will enable him to read and write Braille.Two options are now being considered.The operations can either be done in Germany, or a team of doctors from Interplast International can come to Namibia and operate not only on Martin, but also on other burn victims.The second option would mean that Martin wouldn’t have to be separated from his family and familiar surroundings for six months.When the staff of Namibia Breweries heard about Martin, they collected money for his stay in Germany and handed it over to him.The fire had damaged his eyes and destroyed his eyelids.Because he could not close his eyes, they deteriorated even further.In 2001, Martin met Caroline Vogel and Annika Maschwitz, two students from Germany who did volunteer work at the school.With his light-hearted and friendly nature, he quickly crept into their hearts and they knew that they had to help him.They started a fundraising drive in Germany, sending out hundreds of e-mails calling for donations.In 2002, they had enough money to have the first reconstructive surgery done in Windhoek.Doctors gave Martin new lips and eyelids.His sight is still deteriorating and he is not able to read Braille because of the damage to his hands.Once again, Vogel and Maschwitz decided to help and have now raised funds for further reconstructive and eye surgery.Martin will undergo skin grafts to his face, arms and hands.The eye operation will save the little sight he has left and the operation to his hands will enable him to read and write Braille.Two options are now being considered.The operations can either be done in Germany, or a team of doctors from Interplast International can come to Namibia and operate not only on Martin, but also on other burn victims.The second option would mean that Martin wouldn’t have to be separated from his family and familiar surroundings for six months.When the staff of Namibia Breweries heard about Martin, they collected money for his stay in Germany and handed it over to him.