The video "Learning to Smile" tells the story of a young boy in Kananga who suffered severe electrical burns after entering an unsecured power station while playing hide‑and‑seek. The injury caused extensive deep‑burn contractures, loss of ear tissue, and threatened his ability to breathe, swallow, and hear. Witnessing his plight, two American cities and the Shriners organization rallied to provide medical care, fundraising, and emotional support. A ski mask was created to conceal his scarring, and a series of reconstructive surgeries were planned and partially performed to restore facial structure, improve eye appearance, and enable normal breathing and swallowing. The narrative emphasizes the compassion of the volunteers, the expertise of the pediatric burn team (active since 1922), and the ongoing need for additional surgeries and financial resources to complete his recovery.
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This is a story of compassion. It's a story of two American cities working together to save a child.
He was.
Playing in the city in Kananga, playing hide-and-seek with some of his friends, and he went into a little, a little power station that didn't have any security on it, no door, and he touched something and got electrocuted.
When I saw his picture, I just knew we had to help him. So I decided right then that whatever we could do, we would do it, get it done. We had made a ski mask to cover the scarring and everything on the plane so people wouldn't stare at him. I just didn't want him to be scared. He was just— it was terrible.
He could very easily have been left for dead. This type of injury is usually lethal.
He's obviously very bright, and I think he's got tremendous potential.
Surely there's something that we can do The possibility of having the Shriners organization become part of this really lifted it into a different orbit.
We've been treating kids since 1922 in the pediatric burns specialty area.
The good news is with just a few surgeries, we'll be able to help him a lot.
He's a very, very tough little boy. You can't see it. Realizing where he's been, where he's come, and what he faces every day.
Deep burns heal by contracture, and so this child has suffered tremendous contracture.
He's going to need to come back. The vast majority of the surgery has been performed successfully.
When he comes back, they're going to work on, on his cheek, and they're going to tuck the eye up so that it looks more natural. Even though he does not have an ear, he does have some hearing.
He will be able to swallow, and he will be able to breathe normally. But we're going to raise some more money and get him back here.
What a bang of bucks.
There's a lot more that can be done for him and should be done for him, and he's almost there. We just, we need to get him through this last surgery, and it'll be amazing.
