In April, when Renee Hoffman of Port Elizabeth Charity Projects was helping authorities to look for the mother of a newborn who had been abandoned in a drain in Lorraine, she stumbled on a barefoot little girl with six toes on each foot.
On Wednesday, two-year-old Tyrika received life-changing surgery – and her mother cannot wait to go shopping to buy her some shoes.
“Her mom, Alexa Minnie, had just moved to the settlement called Madiba Village.
“We know all the children in the area and we didn’t know little Tyrika,” Hoffman said.
“The child was barefoot. Her mom said she couldn’t get shoes for her.”
The extra toes also made it difficult for her to walk.

Hoffman referred Minnie to the department of plastic and reconstructive surgery at Port Elizabeth’s Provincial Hospital.
There, doctors decided they would be able to remove the toes as part of a series of surgeries at the hospital during Smile Week taking place this week...