In the streets of Gaza, 13-year-old Akram al-Fayyumi has become a powerful image of resilience. After losing his left arm and right foot in an attack, Akram continues to skate through damaged streets with the help of a prosthetic leg, refusing to let limb loss take away one of the activities he loves most.
The original report describes Akram as a boy who endured long months of treatment and pain before returning to movement in his own way: on roller skates. Despite displacement, injury and discomfort from the prosthetic leg fitted in Egypt, he continues to practise inline skating. His dream is simple and deeply human: to receive a better prosthesis and one day have a horse.
For IMEA CPO, Akram’s story is more than a moving human-interest feature. It is a reminder that paediatric prosthetic rehabilitation in conflict settings must go beyond emergency survival. Children with limb loss need long-term prosthetic care, physical rehabilitation, psychological support, play, sport, education and the chance to imagine a future.
Akram’s skating stands in sharp contrast to the destruction around him. A prosthetic leg that is uncomfortable would challenge any child, but in Gaza the barriers are far greater: damaged infrastructure, displacement, shortages of medical supplies, limited rehabilitation access and the daily uncertainty of war.
For a child amputee, skating is not only recreation. It is balance training, confidence building, self-expression and emotional resistance. Every movement says that rehabilitation is not only about walking from one place to another. It is about returning to childhood, identity and possibility.
Akram’s story also highlights the technical and clinical demands of paediatric prosthetic care. Children are not small adults. They grow, change shape, develop new activity goals and often require repeated adjustments, socket changes and component replacement.
A child like Akram may need:
When a prosthesis is uncomfortable, a child may still use it out of necessity or determination. But discomfort can lead to skin problems, poor gait habits, pain, reduced wear time and long-term rejection of the device. This is why follow-up care is as important as the first fitting.
Akram’s experience sits within a much larger rehabilitation emergency. Reuters reported in April 2026 that Gaza had around 5,000 amputees, describing it as one of the highest per-capita rates globally, with many struggling to access prosthetic limbs because of restrictions and shortages of essential materials.
Other reporting has highlighted the particular burden on children, with aid agencies warning that prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation needs far exceed available capacity. Children require frequent refitting as they grow, but Gaza’s limited prosthetic services and shortages make continuity of care extremely difficult.
Akram’s skating also connects to a wider story of adaptive sport in Gaza. Athletes with limb loss have used cycling, football and other activities not only to rebuild physical capacity, but to reclaim visibility and dignity. The Gaza Sunbirds para-cycling team, for example, has become known internationally for combining adaptive sport with humanitarian action.
For CPOs and rehabilitation teams, this matters because sport and play should not be seen as luxuries. For children and young people with limb loss, they can be essential parts of recovery. They support balance, strength, confidence, peer connection and emotional resilience.
Akram al-Fayyumi’s story should be read as both a tribute to one child’s courage and a call for stronger rehabilitation systems in conflict-affected settings.
A prosthetic leg can help a child stand. A well-fitted prosthesis, regular follow-up, therapy, psychological care and access to activity can help a child live.
Across IMEA, where conflict, trauma, diabetes, road accidents and limited access continue to drive limb-loss needs, Akram’s skating reminds the O&P community of its wider purpose. The goal is not only to replace what was lost. It is to protect movement, childhood, dignity and hope.