Nimeh’s Story: Taking the First Step towards Hope

Nimeh Ali is a 51-year-old woman living in Taiz, Yemen. For some time, she and her family had been living under very difficult conditions. Their only income came from selling agricultural crops, but as conditions in her area worsened, they struggled to earn a living.

“That day,” Nimeh recounts, “Was a different kind of day. I didn’t know why, but I was feeling uncomfortable and afraid that day, but I still had to go to work as usual to support my family. I was two kilometers away from my home, going to fetch milk, feed the livestock, and bring firewood home for cooking. Thinking now about that moment, I wish I had taken just one step back – one step away from the incident that changed my life forever. In a matter of seconds, I found myself lying on the ground, a loud whistling sound in my ears. I looked down to discover that my right foot was gone. I screamed at the top of my lungs from the shock.”

Nimeh had lost her right foot as a result of a landmine explosion. After she was treated in a medical center in Taiz, her brother went with her to the KSrelief-funded Artificial Limbs Center in Al Mujaliah. She was immediately examined and in less than 48 hours, she received a prosthetic limb.

Now that she has her new artificial leg, Nimeh is undergoing an intensive physical rehabilitation and training program that will help her to walk again and to get back to her normal life.