Negaso is a young boy from Ethiopia. He is the third child of his parents. He loves playing football with his friends and wants to attend school. He loves the spinach his mother makes. When he was only one day old, he underwent a emergency colostomy in Butajira Hospital as he was born with a birth condition that leads to intestinal blockage. His mother has a small vegetable business on the streets. At the same time, his father is a daily laborer, and their income is minimal. Negaso wants to go to school and cries when he sees other students go to school by school bus in the morning. His family can't send him to school since he has a colostomy, and they haven't been able to get him the necessary follow-up treatment for his condition. He needs to undergo a series of procedures to eliminate bowel dysfunction. Negaso is now scheduled to undergo surgery to heal his condition on January 4th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, requests $1,500 to cover Negaso's procedure and care. After his recovery, Negaso will no longer experience bowel dysfunction or be at risk of developing severe health complications in the future. His mother said, "I worry that kids would touch his colostomy while I keep him on the street market with me."

Dorica is a 30-year-old woman from Malawi, married with one daughter aged nine. Her husband works as a bicycle technician, repairing bicycles and motorcycles. Dorica used to engage in casual farm work, but is currently unable to due to her illness. Six years ago, Dorica began to experience troubling symptoms, which started with a small painless neck swelling. Over time, the swelling grew larger and Dorica also started experiencing breathlessness. She went to a local hospital to seek medical care and was diagnosed with a multi-nodular goiter. Presently, she experiences a heaviness on her neck, is unable to carry anything on her head and is unable to carry out her household chores. The doctors referred her to our medical partner's care facility, Partners in Hope Medical Centre (PiH) where surgery was recommended, but Dorica is unable to raise funds for the treatment. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Dorica receive treatment. On April 17th, surgeons at PiH will perform a thyroidectomy to remove all or part of her thyroid gland, treat her condition and to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Now, Dorica needs help to fund this $1,015 procedure. Dorica says, “Kindly help me to resume my daily activities, and responsibly care for my family.”

Enzo is a 7-month-old infant from Haiti. He lives with his parents and his older brother. He has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure, resulting in increasing head circumference. Without treatment, Enzo will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, Project Medishare, is requesting $957 to cover the cost of surgery for Enzo at Hospital Bernard Mevs. This is the only site in the country where this care is currently available and the procedure is scheduled to take place on February 27th. This critical treatment will place a shunt to drain the excess fluid from Enzo's brain to reduce intracranial pressure and greatly improve his quality of life. With proper treatment, Enzo will hopefully develop into a strong, healthy young boy. The family is hoping this surgery will be successful so that he will be able to grow up healthy.