A Gambian boy born without ears is now recovering after a successful operation to repair his hearing in Scotland. 

Eight-year-old Mohammed Cham has benefited from a Scotland based organisation, Project Gambia: People Feeding People, charitable act after his mother pleaded for help. 

Cham, also known as Wee Alieu, was flown from The Gambia last month to receive special implants at the University Hospital Monklands at the end of a three-year bid to get him specialist treatment.

The youngster was born without external ears, but his inner ears work perfectly, and it was felt that the Cochlear BAHA bone anchored implants will allow him to hear properly.

The surgery to fit the implants began on Tuesday and was carried out by Specialist ENT surgeon Arunachalam Perumkulam Iyer and his team on a voluntary basis. And the £2000 needed to fly the boy into Scotland, came through the charity’s fund-raising efforts.

The boy is currently convalescing at the Bellshill home of charity co-founder Paul Lafferty who flew out to The Gambia to return to Scotland with Alieu, who is now a awaiting follow-up check-up later in the week.

“The wee man’s hearing has improved already but we’re expecting it to improve even more in the coming days,” said Devine.

“He wasn’t really able to speak English. He was speaking a tribal language and the first words he said after the operation was “Celtic”, because he had been coaching him. And he was able to say our names.”

For the charity it is near the end of a long battle with bureaucracy which co-founder Frank Devine said was “absolutely horrendous”.

To seal the visa, Mr Devine personally handed over a series of documents to UK Visa and Immigration Control in the Serekunda area of Gambia.

He said they included copies of the title deeds to Mr Lafferty’s home and his passport, even the bank statements of the charity. There was also a medical letter from Mr Iyer and a consent note from the boy’s parents.

“There was up to 30 pieces of paperwork submitted,” said Mr Devine. “The title deeds were needed as some kind of guarantee the boy went back to the Gambia. I went out there as a goodwill gesture on our part to make sure the wee boy got the visa.

“When we got knocked back last year, we got immigration lawyers involved, and they made sure that all the paperwork was bang on. Don’t forget this was a big thing for the family to let the boy go for two months. But it’s all worth it.”

Looking further forward Devine has said they would talk to doctors about the possibility of creating ears for him.

Devine, along with Lafferty, Charlie Docherty and Lynne Hamilton Gillies, began the project seven years ago to donate school uniforms, bags, IT equipment, sportswear, footwear and clothing to children living in poor conditions.  They have even sent over hundreds of Celtic strips.