6-year-old boy blinded in shooting visits Louisville Zoo, meets animals

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A six-year-old Kentucky boy who was blinded by a gunshot had a hands-on experience at the Louisville Zoo on Saturday.

Malakai Roberts was watching a movie with his mother and brother while inside his Lexington home in December 2020 when a gunshot went through his temple and behind his eyes. At five years old at the time, Roberts survived the shooting, but was left blinded.

Since recovering, Roberts has been attending school in Lexington and the Kentucky School for the Blind in Louisville. He joined Christopher 2X Game Changers' Future Healers program last fall, a program designed to help children impacted by gun violence between the ages of 4 and 13 by building a better future with learning opportunities.

Future Healers Got Zoo Buddies, a partnership between Christopher 2X Game Changers and the Louisville Zoo, teaches children about care for animals with the ultimate goal of creating a sensitivity toward animals. The initiative was created to explore the healing and therapeutic power of animals for children experiencing secondary trauma from gun violence.

Roberts visited with an Aldabra tortoise and a southern white rhinoceros while at the Louisville Zoo on Saturday. With zoo staff and other Future Healers, Roberts interacted with the animals.

Started in July 2021, the Future Healers program is designed for children between the ages of 4 to 13 years old. More than 110 children impacted by gun violence experience fun and educational activities with the program.

In June, Christopher 2X and partners of Christopher 2X Game Changers participated in an FBI training session to share how its programming can be a model for the rest of the country.

For more information on the Future Healers program, contact the Christopher 2X Game Changers organization.

Related stories: