Image source: Joe McNally/BBC
In a dark room in the Egyptian capital, Cairo, a thirteen-year-old boy looks up at the television screen, barely blinking his eyes.
The screen flashes and Real Madrid star and flamboyant winger, Vinicius Junior, appears directly addressing the boy in Arabic: “Zaher, love” - Hello Zaher.
Zaher could hardly move, his eyes widened and focused on his favorite football player.
We had met Zahir for the first time a year ago, among the ruins of the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. He was a quiet little boy, with war scars on him, and one of millions of children whose lives have completely changed since the outbreak of fighting in 2023 between the country’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) says that more than 17 million children in Sudan currently need humanitarian aid, and adds that it has been able to verify the killing or injury of about 4,300 children, although it believes that the real number is much higher than that.
Zaher had lost his legs as a result of a drone attack, and with limited access to specialist treatment, he continued to dream of the day when he could walk and play football again.
After more than a year, Zaher welcomed us with a warm hug, and his mother Habiba also hugged us when we visited him in an apartment in Cairo.
The boy, who we remember as shy and aloof, is now a different person, confident, mischievous, with a smile on his face, standing upright on new prosthetic legs.
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Cairo became his home about a year ago, and here he underwent surgery, spent months in rehabilitation, and is now able to walk and kick a ball again.
Image source: Vinícius Junior
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When we met Zaher in 2025, he told us that his favorite football player was Vinicius Junior, and we were able to convey this information to the Real Madrid star, who expressed his desire to send him a personal video message bearing all his support and assistance, and after we met again in Cairo, we gathered to watch the message.
The Brazilian footballer begins his message by saying: “I heard your story, and I know how difficult the last few months must have been for you.”
Vinicius has become a prominent voice for combating racism in football and supporting black people, and a smile appears on Zaher’s face as the player addresses him, saying: “You are a hardworking black man, and I really hope that you make good use of your new prosthetic legs, that you return to playing football, and that you become happy. You deserve it.”
Then he invited him, saying: “I would like to invite you to a match in Madrid. We can spend the day together.”
Moved by these words, Zaher got up and left the room. Moments later, he returned wearing Vinicius Junior's new football shirt and expressed his hope that one day he would be able to obtain a visa and accept the invitation.
He says: “Tell Vinicius that I love him. His message really lifted my spirits.” His mother, Habiba, says that she feels “as if the whole world is encouraging Zaher and wishing him success.”
A childhood shattered by war
Image source: Liam Weir/BBC
Zaher lost his legs in 2024, when he and his mother were stuck in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and a large part of the city had turned into a battlefield, after it was destroyed by the ongoing confrontations between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces.
The city also witnessed a shortage of food and basic materials, and the family did not have enough money to flee, and to secure their means of survival, they were forced to sell lentils in the streets.
One morning, while Zaher and his mother were working side by side, a drone targeted the place.
Habiba explained last year: “I looked at him, and he was bleeding, and there was blood everywhere.”
The scene left her deeply shocked and sad, and she said: “He would wake up and ask me: Why did I let them amputate my legs? And I couldn’t find an answer.”
During that period, Zaher was pushing his wheelchair himself through the rubble of his neighborhood, past burned cars, abandoned tanks, and destroyed homes.
Before the outbreak of war, Zaher was fond of football, but after the drone attack, he could no longer play except on his knees, in a painful process that put him at risk of contracting a serious infection.
He said at the time: “I hope to get prosthetic legs, so I can play football with my friends like I used to do before.”
It seemed at the time that the fulfillment of this wish was unlikely, but his story went beyond the borders of Sudan, and fostered a wide response of support and sympathy from people around the world.
Strangers helped him regain his ability to walk
Among them was Dina Latif, a UK-based lawyer of Sudanese origins. After learning about the BBC report, she helped launch an online campaign that raised 45,000 pounds ($60,000) to cover his medical expenses.
When Zahir was unable to obtain the treatment he needed inside Sudan, he had to leave the country, a task that was not easy at all, as Zahir and his mother did not have passports, and their birth certificates had been lost during the war.
After months of preparation and planning, Zaher and his mother were able to fly to Cairo, where an apartment was prepared for them to stay, food was provided in its refrigerator, and the necessary medical appointments were arranged for them.
For the first time in years, their immediate preoccupation was no longer focused solely on how to survive and continue living.
Zaher underwent surgeries, followed by a months-long program of physical therapy and training on using his prosthetic legs. He also received psychological support to help him overcome and deal with the psychological traumas he was exposed to.
Bint Al-Muna Al-Tayeb, one of the doctors involved in his care, says: “He was shy and suffered from a degree of depression and sadness, and extracting a smile from him was almost impossible, but now you can see him laughing. He has become very confident in himself.”
Those close to him believe that the transformation he witnessed was not limited to the physical aspect, but also extended to his psychological state, and Dina says that Zaher has begun to deal with life with determination and determination.
A chance to relive his childhood
Image source: Nezar Abdullah/Anadolu via Getty Images
During the time we spent with Zaher, he was laughing and joking, trying to regain some of what the war had taken from his childhood years.
He is eagerly looking forward to new experiences, from horse riding to cycling. He dreams of becoming an airline pilot. He has not yet played a football match, but he is eagerly waiting to play with his friends when he returns home.
For his mother, Habiba, seeing her son regain his self-confidence has brought her great relief, but she remains concerned about his future and education, and about how he will be received in Sudan, a country still mired in civil war.
It is worth noting that the state of emergency was lifted in their home city, Khartoum, after the Sudanese army regained control of it, but devastation still looms over the capital, after many buildings were turned into ruins due to fires, charring and looting.
Security concerns remain, with 41 percent of Sudan's population facing severe levels of food insecurity, according to a recent statement from the United States and 30 other Western countries, and the organization has warned of "the possibility of famine."
Dina says: “I hope Zaher’s story does not stop here,” and she hopes that his recovery journey will contribute to shedding more light on the suffering of thousands of other Sudanese children, and will attract the necessary funding to help them, after they suffered injuries that left effects that changed the course of their lives.
Zaher and his mother returned to Khartoum, and they hope that the relative improvement in the stability of the city will make it possible for his prosthetic legs to be examined and the necessary adjustments made to them there, to suit his growth.
Despite the sense of security they found in Cairo, the longing for their home, family and friends remained, and while Zaher was given a chance to relive his childhood, millions of other Sudanese children are still waiting to have the same opportunity.
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