(CNN) -- She has eyelashes but no eyebrows. She has all her fingers but is missing four nails. Her skin is so taut now that she can no longer frown. But she can still smile. Her face tells a story of suffering. Her name, Shakira, tells a story of a new journey. Shakira means thankful. Last week, 4-year-old Shakira arrived in the United States for what her caretaker, Hashmat Effendi, hopes will be the start of the rest of her life. Shakira, discovered with severe burns in Pakistan, will undergo reconstructive surgery in January. She will never look fully normal, but Effendi hopes the surgery will make it easier for Shakira to grow older and help others see what Effendi has seen all along: an effervescent bundle of love.
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A doctor found the little girl in a trash bin in Pakistan's Swat Valley
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Her face and arms were severely burned
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Her caretaker named her Shakira, which means thankful
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Shakira arrived in Texas last week for reconstructive surgery
Swat Valley
All anyone could say is that there had been a U.S. drone attack, though U.S. officials say that drones have never struck targets in @placeholder.
Pakistan
Pakistan
Effendi continued to look for relatives, even scattered posters of Shakira everywhere and solicited the help of the @placeholder army and a government official.
Shakira
Shakira
Shakira
Shakira
Shakira
Shakira
Shakira
@placeholder ran into the bathroom, stood in front of the mirror and started screaming.
Hashmat Effendi
Effendi
Effendi
But it was that sense of belonging and being loved that was alien for her, @placeholder realized.