Juma has not had an easy life. His father died in Sierra Leone's brutal civil war, and Juma's severely twisted spine threatened to literally squeeze the life out of him. Despite all this, Juma always had faith that his life would get better.

It took a couple of real-life angels to answer Juma's prayers. Tom Johnson, a former Peace Corps volunteer stationed in Sierra Leone, makes regular visits to the country and assists medical mission teams there. Johnson brought Juma to FOCOS, the organization founded by Dr. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei, which provides orthopedic and spine care to underserved communities in Ghana and West Africa.

After Juma's marathon surgery to correct the 140-degree bend in his spine, Johnson was able to visit Juma briefly in November. Johnson reports that Juma "looked well, straight and happy. I 'snapped' him with his school uniform on."

Members of the FOCOS team were in Sierra Leone at the same time to give Juma a post-op exam. Unfortunately they were unable to see him, because Juma was scheduled for more surgery, this time on his club foot. Looks like Juma's faith has served him well.