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Beloved Zefeti is a recipient of at least 11 surgeries by Fresh Start. He told us how he was injured as a child. He was born in Zimbabwee and as a young child encountered an shiny piece of metal in a field where he was playing. He picked it up and then, as children do, put it in his mouth. At this point the device, a landmine, exploded.
Beloved survided the explosion, but was severely injured. The explosion did severe damage to his mouth and destroyed 60 percent of his teeth. The doctors in Zimbabwe saved his life, but he was left with a severe facial deformity and pain when attempting to eat.
After 6 years, he was able to be sent to the United States for surgical treatment of the damage to his face. In 2010, he became a patient of Fresh Start. Fresh Start doctors have since performed at least 11 surgeries to repair his face. Beloved also received dental treatment to reconstruct his mouth so that his missing teeth could be replaced.
During Beloeved's stay in San Diego, he has graduate from high school and is now attending college with the goal of obtaining a degree in political science. In telling his story, he showed how Fresh Start has provided the medical treatment so that he can be a productive member of society. He told us how thankful he is to have received his treatment.
Fresh Start is a charity that RB Sunrise Rotary supports. Our club was instrumental in getting the necessary funding via a Rotary Foundation grant to purchase a surgical laser. Now they don't have to rent a surgical laser when one is needed. This allows for better treatment and less maintenance .
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