Meet Rahma Haruna, the Optimistic Nigerian Teen Who Lives in a Bowl

A 19-year-old girl from, Kano, Nigeria, Rahma Haruna, who has no limbs and lives most of her life in a plastic bowl, is optimistic about her future and hopes to open her grocery store someday.

The teenager, according to Daily Mail, was born healthy until she turned six months old when she was afflicted with a mystery condition that stalled her growth.

Her mother, Fadi, said, “From six months when she learnt how to sit that was when it began. She didn’t learn how to crawl. She started with a fever and that was it. Then stomach pains. Then her body parts like hands and legs. She cannot use any if the ache strikes.”

Despite living with this condition that confines her to a bowl and leaves her in constant pain, the young girl is happy and maintains a positive outlook on life, Daily Mail reports. Her family do all they can to make her comfortable by looking after her and transporting her around the village in a plastic bowl.

She said, “They help me a lot. How do they? They give me anything I need.”

The teenager’s 10-year-old brother, Fahad, to whom she is very close, said, “I help her in many ways. Bathing her is another thing I do. And taking her out everyday. I feel happy whenever I see people helping her. I like taking her to our relatives. She feels happy when we visit them.”

Although Rahma’s father, Hussaini, has spent 15 years searching for a cure for his daughter’s condition, there has been no change.

He said, “I farm, go to the market and lots more looking for money to pay for her bills. I sold almost everything in my possession. I have spent more than one million naira (£2,600), so far. Only God knows the real amount of what I have spent.”

Still, the cause of her condition remains a mystery and her doctors are perplexed, with some putting it down to the teenager being struck down by a jinn – a supernatural being in Islam mythology.

Daily Mail reports that her family hope to get the attention of a charity or medical specialist who can help relieve the pain of the teenager, who recently received some generous gifts, including a wheelchair, after being featured in the local press.

Her mother said, “We once went to a supermarket and we met someone who bought her wheels. He snapped our photo and it was published in the local papers. Since then we have been getting help from people.”

Even in the face of so many challenges, the teenager remains brave and optimistic about her future.

She said, “I thank God in everything I do. I want to start a business. A grocery store and anything people buy, that is what I want.”

Photo credit: Sani Maikatanga/Barcroft Image