Boaz is a 15-year-old student from a small village in northwest Kenya. He is a calm boy with few words. He lives with his grandparents and his mother, who cultivates land for a living. On February 4, Boaz went to visit his hospitalized brother. He was injured when two motorcycles had a head-on collision at an intersection near his home. Boaz sought immediate medical care. X-rays showed he had a left tibia fibula fracture through the growth plate. He also had multiple small lacerations on the anterior shin and foot. His wounds were washed and cared for, but Boaz is still in pain and unable to walk. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On February 8th, Boaz will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. The surgery will hopefully enable him walk again. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $941 to fund this procedure. Boaz’s mother says “I'm really stressed my son has been hospitalized again, but God has a reason why. Please help my son get better so that he will be able to continue with his studies.”

Wishes is a 5-year-old who hails from a village in Lilongwe District. She is the last born in a family of 3 children and is a bright young student in primary school. Wishes’ parents depend on small-scale farming where they grow maize and groundnuts for their family to eat and for commercial purposes to support the family. Since she was born, Wishes has been experiencing a painful abdomen, vomiting, frequent diarrhea, and feeling weak. Her mother has been taking her to Nkhoma Hospital where she was advised to come back to meet a surgeon for assessment. Wishes was diagnosed with a periumbilical hernia, and she was scheduled to undergo hernia repair surgery at Nkhoma Hospital. However, her parents cannot afford the surgery although they hope to have their daughter undergo surgery. This condition has had a negative impact on Wishes’s life as she feels abdominal pain and cannot go to school when this happens, therefore, affecting her school performance. If the condition is left untreated, it may lead to strangulation which can be life-threatening. Wishes is scheduled for hernia repair surgery on February 13th. Our medical partner African Mission Healthcare is requesting $421 to fund surgery. After surgery, Wishes will be relived of pain and she will be able to attend school without any hindrances from the condition. Wishes’ mother says, “Thank you for this opportunity that has brought new hope to my daughter.”

Thi Ha is a three-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his mother and an older sister in a village in Karen State, Burma. His mother is a stay-at-home parent, and his sister goes to school. His father works in Bangkok, Thailand, as a cleaner in a market to support his family. When Thi Ha was born, his mother noticed a mass at the bottom of Thi Ha’s spine. As he grew older, the mass grew larger and started causing him pain, even if something soft touched it. Thi Ha and his mother visited our medical partner’s care center, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, where the doctors wanted Thi Ha to undergo an MRI to diagnose his condition and prepare an appropriate treatment plan for Thi Ha. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $968 to cover the cost of Thi Ha’s MRI and care, scheduled for February 13. His mother said, “Sometimes his friends do not care and ignore him because of his disease. Then Thi Ha feels embarrassed and upset with his friends.”