​Benjamin Kololo Lusanga was born in Kinshasa on 26 November 2012. Having lost his mother and being born into an extremely poor family, he was rejected by the community of Kimbondo in October 2013. Benjamin was born with a congenital eye disease which makes him completely blind and now risks seriously damaging the development of his skull. The child urgently needs to undergo one or more very complex and delicate operations that are impossible to perform in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Unless his condition is urgently and adequately treated, it risks worsening to the point of becoming irreversible.  

Therefore, Benjamin’s case was submitted to be assessed by Professor Rozzi, a specialist in Pediatrics and Child Neuropsychiatry at the Hesperia Hospital Accredited Private Hospital of Modena. After examining the documentation produced by the Kimbondo Pediatric Hospital, Prof. Rozzi offered to treat little Benjamin.

The child was brought to Italy last 10 September. At present, he is living with a family in Modena who is taking care of him night and day. His therapy program is not entirely defined yet but it is certainly very complex. Since his arrival in Italy, Benjamin has been constantly submitted to medical tests and specialty examinations in different Italian cities. Moreover, the little Congolese boy’s problems do not end at his blindness. Benjamin is also affected by a drop between his right and left eye sockets which is causing his face to develop asymmetrically, with possible consequent damage to the growth of his skull bones. The solution that is currently being taken into consideration by the physicians of the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan is to put resin implants in his eye sockets to be subsequently replaced every 6-12 months, in parallel with the child’s development.

The ocular cavity implant would fulfil a dual function: making his eye sockets develop correctly and his face grow symmetrically, thus enabling Benjamin to undergo surgery capable of restoring his eyesight in the near future (a correctly expanded ocular cavity is a key prerequisite for eventual surgery). At present, several medical teams in different specialised centers are considering including Benjamin in experimental protocols promoting a holistic approach to his pathology in attempting to recover his eye-sight.

The project is also supported by Swiss Re.

 

 

Cost of the project: 36,000 euros