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Children's Burn Foundation To Grant Ugandan Boy, 11, Ability To Walk Again

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) —An 11-year-old Ugandan boy who was unable to walk properly after his legs were severely burned will undergo reconstructive surgeries, thanks to the Children's Burn Foundation.

When Adolf Baguma was 7 years old, his aunt threw hot banana leaves on the back of his legs as punishment for trying to get food.

Because the burns were not medically treated, his legs healed in a 90-degree angle, which made it difficult for him to walk.

The Children's Burn Foundation, which will pay for Baguma's surgeries, was contacted about the young boy after Los Angeles-based attorney Laine Wagenseller met him at an orphanage in Uganda.

Wagenseller said he told the charity that Baguma had to crawl down a dirt road to get to school.

"He wanted to climb trees and swing from branches. And do all the things an 11-year-old wants to do," he said.

Carol Horvitz from the Children's Burn Foundation said, "The thought of Adolf crawling on all fours for the rest of his life, just because he was trying to survive at 7 years old... broke my heart. I knew (we) needed to give new hope to this child with the opportunity for life-changing burn surgery."

Baguma and his chaperone from the orphanage, Eva, arrived in Los Angeles on Monday.

They will be staying with Wagenseller's brother and sister-in-law while the boy undergoes the reconstructive surgeries.

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