Larah is a toddler from Haiti. She lives with her parents and older sister in a small village in the mountains of central Haiti. She likes dressing up and going to church. Larah has two cardiac conditions called ventricular septal defect and patent ductus arteriosus. A hole exists between the two lower chambers of her heart, and a second hole exists between two major blood vessels near her heart. Blood leaks through these holes, leaving her weak and short of breath. Larah will fly to the United States to receive treatment. On February 29th, she will undergo cardiac surgery, during which surgeons will sew a patch over the larger hole, and tie shut the smaller hole, so that blood can no longer leak through them. Another organization, HeartGift Foundation, is contributing $15,000 to pay for surgery, but Larah's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery preparation. The $1,500 bill covers labs, medicines, and preop and postop appointments. It also supports passport obtainment and the help of social workers from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Larah's family overseas. Larah's mother said: "Our family thinks it is a miracle that our daughter has this chance to travel for her surgery!"

Dorothy is a 68-year-old woman from a village in the Lilongwe District of Malawi with three married children. She depends on small-scale farming as she grows maize and groundnuts for consumption and commercial purposes to support herself. Dorothy started experiencing itching followed by a lump in her left breast which kept growing in size and became painful. She visited different health centers where she was unable to receive a diagnosis or treatment until she was seen by a surgeon from Nkhoma Hospital who conducted a free clinic at her nearby health center. Dorothy was diagnosed with breast cancer and she needs to undergo mastectomy surgery. She is willing to undergo the procedure but is unable to afford the surgery. This condition has had a negative impact on Dorothy’s life as she feels pain in her breast and is worried that the cancer could spread. Treatment will relieve Dorothy of the pain and she will no longer be stressed. Dorothy is requesting $567 to fund treatment from our partner, African Mission Healthcare. Dorothy says, “I am looking forward to treatment and full recovery.”

Genesis is a 14-year-old girl from a city in central Bolivia. She is in eighth grade and lives with her mother, who raises her independently. Her mother works as a food vendor. Genesis' father passed away when she was younger. In her free time, she enjoys art and music. When Genesis was younger, she was diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta, a condition in which a major artery connected to the heart is too narrow to operate properly. When she was younger, doctors felt that the condition was not severe enough to operate; as she has grown older, however, she has felt weaker become increasingly tired, so surgery is necessary. Fortunately, our medical partners, The International Cardiac Alliance can help. Genesis is scheduled to undergo Congenital Cardiac surgery on March 21st. Our medical partners are requesting $1,500 to fund her procedure. After surgery, Genesis should make a full recovery. Genesis said, "I am hopeful that after my surgery I will feel stronger and have more energy to do things."