Kiliani is the last-born in a large family of seven children. He was born prematurely along with a twin brother, who sadly did not survive. Kiliani works hard and is now in class three in school. His best subject is mathematics. Currently, he walks to school every day on his crutches because he cannot use his right leg. Kilani was born with a condition impacting his leg and was further made challenging when he had a fracture when learning to crawl. When he was young, his parents tried to seek treatment for him but due to financial challenges, they were not able to continue with treatment. Unfortunately, Kiliani has lived with this condition until now, enduring a lot of pain. Their family depends on small-scale farming where they raise their food for daily use. They are working hard to make ends meet due to the change weather where they live, which is affecting the amount of harvest each year. Our medical partner met Kiliani through a community outreach program. After a medical team reviewed his condition, he has been scheduled to have amputation below his knee which will enable him to use a prosthetic leg. This will make walking for him easier and relieve him from the challenges he is going through. Kiliani’s father says “If this treatment can help my son have ease in walking, please help make it possible, we cannot afford the cost of treatment.”

Heavenlight is a 14-year-old girl and the second-born child in a family of seven children. Heavenlight was going to join advance grades in school this January, but she had to stop attending school because she is having difficulty walking to and from school every day. Heavenlight loves biology, physics, and chemistry and wishes to be a doctor when she grows up. She is worried this dream might be lost if she does not have her leg treated. Heavenlight was diagnosed with genu valgus. This condition causes her legs to bow inward so that her knees touch. This condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. As a result, Heavenlight has difficulty walking. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $880 to fund corrective surgery for Heavenlight. The procedure is scheduled to take place on January 13th. Treatment will hopefully restore Heavenlight's mobility, allowing him to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decrease his risk of future complications. Heavenlight shared, “I am ready to miss a few months of class just to have my leg corrected because it is painful and I struggle a lot walking to school."

Goodluck is a three-year-old boy and is the youngest of two children in his family. Both of his parents work as small scale farmers. He loves playing with toy cars and having fun with his friends. Goodluck was diagnosed with genu varus, a condition caused by an accumulation of fluoride in the bones. This condition is often comes from contaminated drinking water. He experiences pain and exhaustion after short distance walks. Fortunately, has the opportunity to receive treatment through our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH). After his procedure on February 4th, Goodluck will begin regaining his mobility and allow him to play and be active with his friends again. This treatment will also greatly reduce his risk of future complications. AMH is requesting $880 for Goodluck's knee procedure. Goodluck’s mother shared: “It was through one of your employees who saw how much my son was struggling to walk and advised me to try seeking treatment help here.”

Jovin is an adorable three-year-old boy. He's the only child of a single mother whom he loves very dearly. Jovin’s mother is a small-scale farmer of maize and vegetables. Jovin and his mother live with her parents who help watch Jovin while his mother is working. Jovin was diagnosed with Bilateral Genu Valgus that cause his legs to bow inward making it difficult for Jovin to walk. This condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, often a result of contaminated drinking water. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Jovin's mother raise $880 to fund corrective surgery for Jovin. The procedure is scheduled to take place on February 10th and will hopefully restore Jovin's mobility, allow him to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decrease his risk of future complications. Jovin’s mother says, “I have given him calcium medication, but it hasn’t helped. The cost of surgery is too high for me to afford.”

Prince is a friendly and playful three-year-old boy. He is the only child to his single mother who is currently in a different town selling fruit in order to make money to support her son. While his mother is away working, Prince lives with his maternal grandparents. Prince has been diagnosed with bilateral genu valgus causing his legs to bow inward making it difficult for Prince to walk. This condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Prince's mother raise $880 to fund corrective surgery for Prince. The procedure is scheduled to take place on February 10th and will hopefully restore Prince's mobility, allow him to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decrease his risk of future complications. Prince’s grandmother says, “His legs keep worsening but his mother has not been able to find the money to take him to hospital.”

Elias is a two-year-old boy who is already playful and curious. He loves to ask questions about anything he doesn’t understand. He wants to know about almost everything around him. Elias and his older brother live with their mother after their parents separated about one year ago due to family conflicts. His mother earns a living by selling vegetables, while his father works as a mechanic, and sends money on occasion for care and support. When Elias was about one year old, he was outside playing with his older brother when he accidentally stepped into hot charcoal and sustained burns. Burn scar contractures have developed as he healed, which entails the tightening of the skin around his burns. As a result, Elias feels a lot of pain when he wears shoes on his left foot. Fortunately, on February 10th, surgeons at our medical partner's care center, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre, will perform a burn contracture release surgery. With treatment, Elias will no longer be in pain, and will be able to wear shoes comfortably. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is asking for $639 to help fund Elias's procedure. Elias’s mother says, “He now does not enjoy wearing closed shoes due to the pain he goes through. Please help my son.”

Pascalina is a beautiful five-year-old girl. She's is the second-born in a family of three children, and is always notably friendly to those around her. Both of Pascalina's parents are small scale farmers, while her father also seeks out casual laboring jobs to further help earn a living. Pascalina was born as a healthy child, however when she reached one and a half her parents became concerned. At that age they had expected her to be able to stand up and walk, yet she could not. Pascalina was diagnosed with bilateral genu valgus. This is a condition typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. As a result, Pascalina couldn't stand or walk, as her legs were too weak. Her parents tried seeking treatment for her and used medication, but nothing seemed to help. By the time Pascalina had turned three, despite her feeble ability to stand and walk for a short distances at a time, her parents began to notice that her legs were bent inward forming knocking knees. Last year they visited a local hospital in their village seeking treatment, however were then advised to go to a referral hospital that her parents could not afford. A year later, having not received any treatment, Pascalina’s legs had become so impacted that she was unable to walk or stand without crying due to the pain she felt. A local priest advised her parents to seek care at The Plaster House, in Arusha, Tanzania. There, through internal funding, Pascalina was able to have surgery on both legs to help correct them. However, given the severity of her condition, the first surgery was not enough to fully correct her legs. As a result, she needs another surgery to complete her treatment and her parents are asking for help to fund her care. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $880 for corrective surgery for Pascalina. The procedure is scheduled to take place on February 11th. With treatment, Pascalina's mobility will hopefully be restored, which will allow her to walk without pain, and play with her siblings and friends like normal. Her risk of having future complications will decrease as well. Pascalina's mother says, "We could not afford treatment for a long time, but since the first surgery, she has improved. We wish to see her continue improving and be like any other normal child."

Sioni is a 17-month old girl and the only child to her young mother. Sioni's mom never had a chance to go to school herself, and is the second wife to her husband, who has two wives and seven children. Sioni's father is a livestock keeper and a small-scale farmer. They come from a Maasai community where health facilities are a long distance away, and frequently are unable to go to hospitals due to financial challenges. Due to this reality, Sioni was born at home through the help of midwives. Sioni was born with clubfoot on both feet. Clubfoot is a congenital musculoskeletal condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes patients to have a great deal of difficulty walking and wearing shoes. Fortunately, Sioni's family traveled to our medical partner's care center, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre, where she will receive treatment for her condition. There, on February 18th, surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on both of Sioni's feet. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $935 to fund Sioni's clubfoot repair. After treatment, she will be able to walk easily, and grow up to run and play like other children. Sioni’s mother says, “I would like my daughter to be like other children.”

Roy is a charming and energetic toddler from Tanzania. He is playful and full of smiles. He is the youngest of his single mother's three children. His mother sells cassava root at the local bus station to support their family. Roy was diagnosed with bilateral genu varus. This means Roy has difficulty walking due to his legs bowing outwards. This condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. As a result, he walks with an abnormal gait and complains of pain and exhaustion after playing or taking a short walk. His surgery is scheduled for February 18th and our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is raising $880 to fund Roy's surgery. Treatment will hopefully restore Roy's mobility, allow him to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decrease his risk of future complications. Roy’s mother says, “My income is very little, I want my son to have his legs corrected but there is no way I can afford the cost.”

Agai is a nine-month-old baby boy and the youngest child of his mother's five children. Agai's father lives in a remote village where most people are Maasai and keep livestock for a living. His parents sell milk and cattle to support the family. Agai has clubfoot of his left foot, a condition in which his foot is twisted out of shape. His condition may cause him difficulty walking and even wearing shoes in the future. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Agai receive treatment. On March 1st, he will undergo clubfoot repair surgery at AMH's care center. A successful treatment will ensure that he is able to walk easily when he gets older. Now, he and his family need help raising $935 to fund Agai's procedure and care. Agai’s mother shared, "when my stepdaughter told me there is a place where my son can have his foot corrected it was hard to believe. But after seeing other children with a similar condition, I realized it is not just my son."

Naipasoi is an adorable three-year-old girl and the firstborn child in a family of two. Naipasoi’s father lives across the border in Kenya selling Maasai herbal medication and honey, while her mother stays at home looking after her children. Naipasoi’s mother has a few cattle from which she is able to sell the milk of to get money for food and other necessities, however overall it is challenging for them to make financial ends meet. This is made more difficult since they don’t farm, so they must buy all their food to eat, which is hard when finances are so tight. In 2019, Naipasoi was involved in a fire accident, from which she sustained severe burns. Naipasoi’s mother made porridge for lunch and took the pot off the fire and placed it in a corner to cool down, so that she could feed Naipasoi. As she went out to clean plates Naipasoi took a cup and tried to fetch porridge for herself in the pot, however dipped her hand directly into the hot porridge. Her mother ran to her rescue, but Naipasoi had already sustained incredible burns. Over time, burn scar contractures have developed, which tighten the skin around her burn. As a result, she cannot use her hand. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Naipasoi receive the life changing treatment she needs. On March 2nd, surgeons at their care center, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre, will perform a burn contracture release surgery so that Naiposoi can regain some use of her hand. Naipasoi and her family need help to fund this $874 procedure. Naipasoi’s mother says, “Please help my daughter her hand needs treatment she cannot use it.”

Joseph is a friendly and playful six-year-old boy and the eldest in a family of four children. Joseph is currently in kindergarten, and he loves counting numbers. In his free time, he enjoys playing football. Joseph's parents raise livestock to make a living. When Joseph was three years old, he burned his left hand in a fire. Now, he has limited use of his left hand, because his fingers have contracted and he is unable to move them freely. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Joseph receive treatment. On March 2nd, surgeons at AMH's care center will perform a burn contracture release surgery to help him regain use of his hand. Now, he and his family need help raising $874 to fund his procedure and care. Joseph’s father shared, "it has been a bad season for livestock keepers and I am not able to afford the cost."