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."

Srey Buoy lives in Kampong Cham province with her family. Both her parents work as farmers, growing rice and corn. Her grandmother stays at home and takes care of her 6-year-old daughter, who is in kindergarten. Her husband works at a clothing factory several hours away in Phnom Penh and travels home on the weekends. At home, Srey Buoy helps her parents harvest vegetables around the house and enjoys playing games with her daughter. On April 14th, 2023, Srey Buoy was in a motorbike accident, where she sustained multiple injuries across her body. She was transported to a hospital in Vietnam for urgent medical care. Throughout the year, her fractures healed, however, her right eye developed ectropion, a condition where the eyelid turns outward, leading to limitations in the lateral movement of her eye. She cannot close her eye completely, which may cause complications as her eyelid cannot completely protect her eye from infections and scrapes. When Srey Buoy learned about our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), her family traveled for four and a half hours seeking treatment. On May 6th, our surgeons at CSC will perform a contracture release procedure to alleviate tightness, a lateral canthopexy to stabilize the eyelid, and a full-thickness skin graft to repair tissue damage on her right eye. This will allow her to close her eye completely. Srey Buoy and her family are able to contribute $100 but needs to raise $387 more to fund the procedure. After the surgery, Srey Buoy hopes to return home and be able to care for her family without worrying about this anymore.

Alazar is a sweet boy from Ethiopia. He is the seventh child in his family. Five of the children are girls and two are boys. He loves to sing songs, go to church, try martial arts, and drink juice. His dad is diabetic and his condition causes him to faint often. He has government health insurance and gets treatment in a local government hospital. Because of his condition, Alazar's dad cannot work. His mom makes traditional bread and sells it on the street to feed her children. She makes her bread by firewood and this makes it hard for her to always have the smoke of the wood making the bread. She is the only one who works for income in their family, but her older children help with housework. They bring water from the spring carrying it on their back. She proudly sends all her children to school. Alazar underwent an earlier colostomy, in which the end of the colon is brought through an opening in the abdominal wall. This surgery is often performed to bypass bowel malformations, but colostomies are usually temporary and may call for closure. In Alazar's case, his colostomy requires closure in order to restore bowel function and prevent future complications. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,009 to cover the cost of a colostomy closure for Alazar. The surgery is scheduled to take place on January 9th and, once completed, will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably and confidently. Alazar's mom said: “After he gets the treatment and heals I will praise my Lord. I will tell everyone who knows me about the hand of God. I did ask God ‘to heal my baby. You gave me this child; don’t take it away from me. I always cry and pray.’ I hope God has heard my prayer leading me to you. I will go to my church and testify what God did to all community in the church.”