- Mustafa and Munzir al-Nazzar were the subjects of the award-winning shot named "hardship of life."
- The father and son lost limbs due to Syria's civil war.
- A fundraising drive has meant they are now traveling to Italy to receive custom-made prosthetics.
A Syrian child born with no limbs due to the country's civil war — and his father who lost his leg — who was the focus of an award-winning international photo– is being given prosthetic limbs in Italy.
The five-year-old child, Mustafa al-Nazzar, lives with tetra-amelia, a congenital disorder caused by his mother Zeynep being poisoned by nerve gas released during the war in Syria.
Munzir, Mustafa's father, lost his right leg in a bomb blast in Idlib, Syria.
Their story made headlines after a bittersweet photo of the pair – entitled The Hardship of Life" – won Photo of the Year at the Siena International Photo Awards with his image. As a result of the publicity, donations of €114,000 ($129,360) was raised for father and son to get custom prosthetics.
After the prize was awarded to photographer Mehmet Aslan, The organizers of the photography prize launched a fundraising mission for Mustafa, and announced on their Facebook page that the family is now traveling to Italy to receive treatment.
"The two protagonists of the photo that struck the whole world and made thousands of people's hearts beat are now in Italy," the Siena Awards wrote on Facebook.
The Times reports that the pair will receive treatment at NAIL prosthetic center near Bologna. Gregorio Teti, the center's technical director, said: "It will be a complicated job but we aim to allow Mustafa to live an autonomous life,"
The fundraiser remains open to donation, as additional funds are needed to ensure that Mustafa's prosthetics can be changed as he grows.
He has big dreams, telling Italian news site La Republica "I want to go to school! I want to get in the car and drive! I'll go to the University!".