LEO HELPS AFRICAN KIDS GET A NEW START ARTICLE

In Touch
March 5, 2007

LEO HELPS AFRICAN KIDS GET A NEW START


Leo, here with co-stars Djimon Hounsou and Jennifer Connelly gave the kids new limbs-and hope. “Getting new limbs restores their body image,” Jean Gonzalez, a certified prosthetist orthotist, tells In Touch.


Most people adore Leonardo DiCaprio because he’s so talented and sexy. But eight African child actors, who worked with Leo on the set of Blood Diamond in South Africa, love him because he kept his promise. While filming the controversial movie about diamond mining in Africa last year, Leo, 32, bonded with the kids, each of whom was missing a limb. The Oscar-nominated actor was so moved by their plight that he vowed to help them. Leo and other Blood Diamond cast and crew members created the Blood Diamond Fund, which raised more than $200,000 to buy life-changing prosthetic limbs for the region’s underprivileged kids. “You can’t help but be moved” by what Leo’s done, says Ed Zwick, the movie’s director. Today, eight children, including Simon Mpofana, have already received limbs. “It was the happiest day when I was given my new leg,” Simon says. “I feel as if I have been given a new life.”


“I am walking tall” says Nkululo Mnisi. “I was so excited, I bought my first pair of shoes.”