LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A Louisville family took in a boy from Africa who was born with a hole in his heart and desperately needed medical treatment.
Now that family is getting thousands of dollars for their service, but they've decided to donate that money right back to the organization that helps children from around the world.
Nouri, a 4-year-old boy from Burkina Faso in Africa, was born with a hole in his heart. If he was born in the United States, he likely would have had a surgery to fix it in the first few months of his life. But in Africa, he couldn't get that. So Nouri came to Louisville.
"If this didn't happen, that little guy was not going to make it," Mark Kull said.
Debi McDonald, a chapter director for Healing the Children, made sure Nouri got the care he needed. Healing the Children works to help underserved children around the world get medical care they need, so Nouri was flown 5,400 miles so that doctors at Norton Children's Hospital could save his life.
Nouri, a 4-year-old boy from Burkina Faso in Africa, was born with a hole in his heart.
The Kull family opened their home and took Nouri in while he saw an array of doctors and specialists. What none of them realized was Nouri had many more issues. He needed multiple surgeries to fix his heart, kidney stones and a hernia.
"You think you're helping this person, and then you end up growing more or learning more than these little guys and girls ever could," Mark said.
Because the Kulls were there for the boy and provided him a temporary home as he underwent medical procedures, the family won a $25,000 community service award from Northwestern Mutual.
Mark works for Northwestern Mutual.
"It's a big ask to ask someone to do it," Mark said. "It's an even bigger ask if they have to put their own person finances behind it, so the gift from the Northwestern Mutual Foundation basically means 'hey all you got to do is love this child and we can handle all the rest.'"
That money will now go directly back to Healing the Children.
"We have more optics into people's lives these days than we ever did, but yet I somehow feel less connected and so my encouragement to everybody is if there is something on your heart or mind charity-wise that you've always thought I want to do that, but that sounds crazy," Mark said. "I think on the other side of it you will say 'man I'm really glad I did that.'"
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