in tanzania, children hunted for the color of their skin. >> they think they're not human. >> victims of ignorance, greed, and superstition. their body parts sold by witch doctors on the black market. >> the attackers broke into the house and went for baracka's arm. >> from the unspooes speakable cruelty, unexpected saviors. juju chang on a journey that began eight years ago in africa with a woman risking it all to keep those persecuted safe. >> the police told me, you will be killed and we're not going to be there to protect you. >> while in america a big-hearted heroine giving them hope. >> they call you the saint of staten island. >> people shouldn't feel that you need to be a saint to do good things. >> and the doctors about to change their lives.

this special edition of "nightline," "the hunted," will be right back. ♪ ♪ start the car! start the car! the ikea winter sale. wooooooo! get up to 50% off select items. now through january 10th. ikea.

♪ ♪ start the car! start the car! the ikea winter sale. wooooooo! get up to 50% off select items. now through january 10th. ikea. this special edition of "nightline," "the hunted," continues. juju chang reports. >> okay, oh very nice! which bed is yours? top bunk or bottom bunk? nice. this is yours.

baracka and amgudu are bunkmates, living in hiding in tanzania. does he snore at night? no? you like each other, huh? yeah. baracka, is it like having a big brother? yeah? >> reporter: they both have albinism, a disorder marked by absence of pigment in the skin and eyes. does he take care of you? >> when some people bully him, amagu tells him off. >> he protects you? because he has such big muscles? >> reporter: they weren't born brothers but their shared experiences have made them just that. >> oh, good to see you. >> reporter: their easy smiles and friendly manner mask the unspeakable cruelty they've both faced. hunted simply because of how they look. in tanzania, albinos are thought to be ghosts, haunted beings, routinely targeted in heinous

attacks motivated by superstition and greed. we traveled to the nation's largest city, dar es salaam, to witness firsthand the impact of the brutality. you like the green one, i can tell. migudu was 10 years old in a rural village, when his life was forever changed. do you remember what happened the night you were attacked? >> yes. >> attacks against persons with albinism are fueled by ignorance. >> reporter: vicki is executive director of under the same sun,

a canadian ngo dedicated to the plight of these persecuted people. >> they think that persons with albinism is not human. if there's disaster, droughts, floods, hurricanes, they're blamed for that are. >> reporter: their body parts can be sold for thousands of doctors by local witch doctors. >> the witch doctors are like gods. they tell their clients that bones and other organs of persons with albinism, al with a magic possession, will make them successful, will make them win elections, will make their businesses boon, will help in their love affairs. >> reporter: baracka was 4 when he was attacked by bounty hunters in the dead of night. >> the attackers broke into his house and went for baracka's arm and chopped off the hand. lot mother screamed so hard, she was left alone to defend baracka.

she says he had serious head injuries. >> after 2 1/2 years in police custody, four men were sentenced to decades in prison for the attack. as for anguru, it took over four years but the six men who attacked him were sentenced to 20 years in prison. these recent convictions would have been rare a few years ago, yet vicki says so many more go unreported. >> geographically, they share the border. >> reporter: for 18 years vicki had been a radio reporter at bbc africa. in 2008 she risked her life in this award-winning report posing as a local business woman looking to buy albino body parts. after facing death threats, she went into hiding, forced to disguise herself like this. eventually she left journalism altogether. >> the last straw was when the

police told me that, if you continue to report, you will be killed, and we're not going to be there to protect you. >> reporter: tanzania has one of the highest ratesed of albinism in the world. as part of an emergency effort, the government brought the kids to this school for safekeeping. when we went to visit in 2009, it was already at capacity. how many boys sleep in this bed? >> two boys. >> really old. >> old beds. >> all beds have two boys? >> yes. >> reporter: vicki's ngo helps provide supplies. while they're safe from violence, there's another danger, the sun. an albino in tanzania will likely die of skin cancer in their 30s. >> do we know where the baby's from? she's scratching her head. can i give the baby some chapstick? this is for lips. that looks painful.

>> reporter: 2009 is also when we first met mariamu. ♪ >> that is so beautiful! >> reporter: she was attacked while sleeping in a hut with her son near the rwandan border. left so helpless, her mother had to clothe and feed her, even take care of her 4-year-old boy allisha. >> reporter: today she lives in that same safe house as baracka and anguru. as a foster mother of sorts. she received her third set of prosthetics eight months ago in canada, increasing her self-sufficiency by leaps and bounds. imagine a woman with no arms

running a weaving business in her safe house. >> wow, they're really beautiful. >> thank you. >> surprise! ♪ happy birthday to you >> reporter: and today vicki and the boys are celebrating her birthday. >> how old are you now? >> 34. >> 34, my goodness. do you feel like a surrogate mother to them? >> i feel so happy living with these boys, yes, it's true, i feel like a surrogate mother. i'll always speak on their behalf because i am now their voice. >> reporter: today we're making the two-hour journey to see her biological son allisha at his boarding school outside the city. how often do you get to see him? >> maybe three, four times, five times sometimes in a year.

>> that's all? oh my goodness. this is a precious visit. >> last time when you saw me, i was really, really in bad shape. he was asking me, why aren't you happy? why aren't you holding me? can the person who chopped off your arms, can he bring back the arms so that you can use them to hold me? >> reporter: that boy she was once unable to feed or hold is now 11 years old. he instinctively takes care of her and tells us he'd like to be a doctor someday. why do you want to be a doctor? >> reporter: before they know it, the visit's over. it's time for another difficult good-bye.

on our final day, mariamu, a devout christian, takes her surrogate sons, baracka and amguru, to church. ♪ >> seems to me that you have been the victim of some of the worst of humanity, yet you have such a bright outlook on your fellow man. >> it's true that i have suffered a lot. and if i had not let it go, i wouldn't have been the person i am today. and that is why i carry on. >> reporter: a message of hope she wants to instill in baracka and anguru, who like her have seen so much horror in their young lives. when we come back, a medical mission. the boys meet another guardian angel, 8,000 miles away in new york city. what's the one thing you'd like to see when you get to new york?

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this special edition of "nightline" continues. juju chang reports. they're here! oh my god! guys! >> reporter: a few weeks after saying good-bye to baracka and amburu in tanzania, the boys and two other amputee victims have made their way halfway around the world to new york city. >> i'm so happy.

>> reporter: leading the welcome committee, this woman, alisa montanti, who will become their guardian angel in this hemisphere. it's a goodwill mission to get much-needed prosthetic limbs. >> we're ready to proceed. ready? >> reporter: the kids are given the vip treatment by customs and border protection. they're soon on their way to what will be home for the next three months. the dare to dream house in new york's staten island. alisa has single-handedly raised enough money to welcome over 200 amputee children here. >> these are just some of the kids. >> reporter: over the past 20 years her foundation, the global medical relief fund. >> this is dalal from iraq, megan from nepal. these are the two liberian children cecilia and abigail. >> they call you the saint of staten island. does that make you uncomfortable? >> it does. >> why? >> people shouldn't feel that you need to be a saint to do good things.

because really, any ordinary person can do good. >> reporter: she's arranged for all four tanzanian kids to receive prosthetic limbs from a top-notch medical team. a world away from rural tanzania, the kids feel at home on the eve of a very important next chapter. >> hi, everybody, how are you? good to see you. how's everybody doing? step back some more. feet back. >> reporter: two mornings later, they arrive at the shriners hospital for children in philadelphia. >> oh, 80 pounds, nice posture. >> can you turn like this? can you do that? there you go. >> reporter: they're back a second time, having outgrown their prosthetics, and they'll keep coming back till they're fully grown. how have they changed to you physically and emotionally? >> they're a lot more comfortable with us for sure. a lot more coming out of their shell than we saw the first time we met them.

>> a lot more trust? >> a lot more trust. i think they're a little more hopeful. can you draw something small? >> reporter: emanuel's hand was savaged by his attackers but that hasn't stopped him from being a talented artist. >> he can still draw better than most people. it looks a bit like ted koppel. >> take off your jacket. >> reporter: the kids are then fitted for their prosthetics. >> there you go. this is what we'll use to get it on, fill it with plaster paris, and have a positive mold. >> all right this one is done. >> reporter: amguru's needs are more complicated. >> he doesn't have elbows. we need to give him an elbow joint so he can have flexion, extension. >> reporter: their casts are then taken to an on-site lab. it's like a little santa's workshop. >> it is. >> reporter: over the next few weeks their new arms will be

constructed. in the meantime this trip isn't all about hospitals. alisa has one special wish to fulfill. remember back in tanzania? what's the one thing you'd like to see when you get to new york? >> swimming. >> you want to see a swimming pool? >> reporter: alisa brings them to a neighbor's house in staten island for a little r&r. the kids spend the next few hours just being kids. splashing. lounging. jumping. laughing. they play alongside another special visitor staying with alisa. 4-year-old arush from pakistan, who was born without legs and only one hand. what's that like when they get together? >> it's wonderful. they see each other's disability, and they know they're not alone. >> what is it about the swimming that they love so much? >> i think freedom. they were being kids.

they were being normal. they weren't being different. they were having the time of their life. >> reporter: a few weeks later, they're back at shriners for the big moment. anguru goes first. >> open. open the hand. >> reporter: he has some hard work ahead of him but is already making progress. emanuel, the artist, is up next. >> he's always smiling, this kid. he is a special soul. >> reporter: within minutes, he's flexing his new arm. eventually an operation will make his drawing hand far more functional. and finally, it's little baracka's turn. >> hello. >> can you put it on yourself, baracka?

>> okay, more. nice. how does it feel? >> good. >> good? >> yes. thank you. >> how does it feel? >> good. >> good? can you try grabbing with you knew hand? let's see. you did it. that's impressive. that's what we call teamwork. oh, yes! oh, yes! that's amazing. look at you, two hands. when you see today, what's that moment like for you? >> oh -- it never gets old. think about what's going on in his head. he's kind of put back together, you know. whole. >> it's sort of like restoring part of their humanity.

>> absolutely. absolutely. >> reporter: before their long journey home, the boys are eager to show off their new arms with a few familiar faces back home in tanzania. >> we'll see you with your new arms! are you happy with them? >> yes! >> yes! >> we're so happy! baracka, what are you holding? >> airplane. >> airplane, are you going to fly one one of these days? >> yes. >> wow! that smile. we really miss you. >> reporter: two boys who have encountered the worst of humanity, and yet are bolstered and loved by some of the best of it. >> whoo! mwah!

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two compassionate advocates spanning two continents. vicki nititenma and alisa montai. to ease another's heartache is to forget one's own. as always we're online on our "nightline" facebook page. good night, america.