Neima is an adorable 16-month-old baby from Ethiopia. She loves to play and eat with her mother! She has an older sister who is eight years old. To support their family, her father works as a farmer and her mother manages their household. Neima was born with an anorectal malformation, a congenital abnormality that leads to a complete or partial intestinal blockage. She needs to undergo a series of procedures to eliminate bowel dysfunction. Her family has taken her to different hospitals seeking treatment, resulting in them using all of their savings. This left them unable to fund her needed treatments, so Neima went without a colostomy for one year. This led to her experiencing difficulty eating, only taking breast milk and liquids. She eventually developed bowel obstruction because of her condition, and an emergency colostomy was done. However, she now needs to undergo another procedure to eliminate her bowel dysfunction. Fortunately, Neima is scheduled to undergo surgery to correct her condition on August 1st. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of Neima's procedure and care. After her recovery, Neima will no longer experience bowel dysfunction or be at risk of developing health complications in the future. Her mother shares, “For my child, I am so hopeful that she will completely heal, and I will celebrate her birthday with my whole family. I will educate her, and I have hope that she will be a teacher or a doctor.”

Loserian is a student and the youngest of six children in his family in Tanzania. For over six years, Loserian experienced pain and discomfort when he walked, because his legs bowed inwards, forcing him to use a walking stick for support. Four years ago, he received surgery through Watsi funding, that helped to correct the inward bowing of the legs. This enabled him to walk with ease and to carry out his daily activities, like going to school and playing. However, Loserian was recently diagnosed with bilateral femoral varus, which causes his legs to bend outward at the thighs. This condition typically results from contaminated drinking water. Once again, Loserian is experiencing pain and difficulty walking. His parents, who are subsistence farmers, do not earn enough to be able to afford Loserian's treatment, and therefore, they are seeking help to cover the costs of his care. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $880 to fund corrective surgery for Loserian. The procedure is scheduled to take place on May 10th. Treatment will hopefully restore Loserian's mobility, allowing him to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decreasing his risk of future complications. Loserian says: "After I had my surgery, walking became easy and normal and I was not having any challenges. But for the past few months, I have been feeling pain when walking and my legs are now bowing at the thighs."

Randy is a 49-year-old from the Philippines. He has developed a large mass on his left shoulder. Because of this mass, Randy has been unable to secure full time employment. In order to support the needs of his family, Randy works part time in the neighborhood where he lives. Because of his inability to afford and access care, Randy had to delay treatment for a couple of years, and the mass increased in size. Fortunately, Randy found his way to our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines, and he is now scheduled for surgery on May 3rd at Our Lady of Peace Hospital. World Surgical Foundation Philippines is requesting $1,196 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care, which will remove the mass and enable Randy to return to full time employment. “Randy is so eager to be treated so he can work and provide for his family,” his sister said. “We are very grateful to World Surgical Foundation Philippines and Watsi for helping people like us. Thank you for your generous hearts," she added.

Philip is a charming, friendly, and talkative three-year-old boy, and the youngest child in a family of six children. Philip's family has experienced financial challenges, and they are supported by their church. Philip does not attend school yet, but some of his siblings have their education are sponsored and are doing well in school. Philip has been diagnosed with bilateral genu valgus, a condition in which the knees angle inward and touch one another when the legs are straightened. The condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. As a result, he has difficulty walking. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Philip receive medical treatment. On April 8th, he will undergo corrective surgery at AMH's care center. Treatment will hopefully restore Philip's mobility, allowing him to attend school, participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decreasing his risk of future complications. Philip’s mother shared, "please help my son, he is struggling to walk."

Ikram is a charming and friendly 3-year-old boy. He's the youngest in a family of four children. Ikram’s mother works as “mamantilie”, which is a phrase used for women cooking street foods. His father is a casual laborer who seeks daily jobs like working at construction sites. Ikram was diagnosed with genu valgus. His legs bow so that his 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, He has a difficult time walking and playing. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $880 to fund corrective surgery for Ikram. The procedure is scheduled to take place on March 17th. Treatment will hopefully restore Ikram's mobility, allow him to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decrease his risk of future complications. Ikram’s mother shared with us how happy she will be to see her son able to walk like other children.

Erlando is a playful three-year-old boy from the Philippines who loves to giggle and watch Tik Tok videos. Erlando was born with a congenital abnormality that leads to intestinal complications. This condition requires Erlando to go through a series of corrective procedures to eliminate the abnormality and reduce the risk of life-threatening complications. Erlando's parents sew uniforms for a living and work hard to earn enough to sustain their daily needs. Our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines, is helping Erlando's parents raise $1,279 to cover the total cost of Erlando's procedure and care. He is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on February 16th and after his recovery, Erlando will be able to live a happier and healthier life. Erlando's mother shared," This surgery will be the biggest blessing our child will ever receive given our economic situation. It will be a such a relief to see him grow up healthy."

Rebecca is a very talkative and friendly woman. In September 2020, she noticed that her belly had started to increase in size and she thought she was pregnant. During one of the clinic visits, the doctor wanted to listen to the baby’s heartbeat but found there was nothing to listen to so they sent her for an ultrasound. The results revealed an ovarian cyst and her doctor advised her to seek for urgent review in a different facility. At the time, Rebecca did not have money to go for checkup. Her belly grew bigger as time went by and in August, her brother offered her help to support some of her hospital visits. She started visiting different hospitals but could afford them. Her brother recommended she try visiting Kijabe Hospital and upon arrival, she was examined and later was scheduled for surgery. Rebecca was employed as a tailor, but lost her job due to her health last April. Since loosing her job, she works doing casual jobs, like laundry work and cleaning houses and shops for people. In her new line of work, it is still hard to make ends meet and she shared that she now relies on her friends for connections to put food on the table. Learning that she might be able to have financial support for her surgery, Rebecca has new hope for the future. She said, "I’m very happy that at least there is some hope that I can get treated.”

Sara is a 17-year-old girl from Colombia who loves to help other people. She graduated from high school this year and now volunteers at a home care center for the elderly. Sara has clubfoot of both feet, a condition in which her feet are twisted out of shape. This causes her difficulty walking. Fortunately, Sara's family traveled to visit our medical partner, Clínica Noel. On February 3rd, surgeons there will perform bilateral clubfoot repair surgery. After recovery, Sara will be able to walk easily and without pain. Now, Clínica Noel, is requesting $1,500 to fund Sara's procedure and care. Sara shared, "my family and I hope that after surgery I'll be able to walk normally, chasing my dreams of helping even more people. We hope that this treatment helps me to reduce my physical limitations."

Zaw lives with his mother, two sisters, two nephews, and two nieces in Mon State in Burma. His mother is retired, and his youngest niece and nephew go to school. His niece works as a betel nut cutter with his two sisters, while his nephew works as a day laborer. Zaw cannot work right now due to the pain in his foot. In his free time, he enjoys praying to Buddha and watching movies, which also helps him feel better. Around the end of September, Zaw developed pain in his left foot. A few weeks later, three of his toes turned black. Eventually, all of his toes, and his forefoot turned black too. When he went to Mawlamyine Christian Leprosy Hospital (MCLH) a couple weeks ago, he was diagnosed with gangrene and was admitted to the hospital straight away. At first the doctor tried to treat him with oral medication, injections and physiotherapy exercises to increase the blood supply in his left foot. When this did not work, Zaw was told that the best option is to amputate his foot. Unable to pay for surgery, the doctor referred him to our partner Burma Children Medical Fund for assistance accessing further treatment. Currently, Zaw is in a lot of pain. His left forefoot is black and swollen. As the pain is worse at night, he cannot sleep properly. He also has difficulty sleeping because he is worried about his foot and their financial situation. "Once I have recovered from surgery and I have received a prosthetic foot, I want to support my family and become a taxi driver," he said. "Thank you so much to the donors for supporting me. Every day I pray for them."

Godwin is three-month-old baby boy and the last born child in a family of two children. Godwin's parents are small-scale farmers and his father has a small shop where he sells fruits and vegetables. His parents have spent all their savings seeking treatment for Godwin. However, their savings were not enough to fund his medical bills and so they resorted to borrowing from their friends and relatives. They are still in debt and can no longer find any money to pay for their son's shunt revision surgery that he needs to treat his worrying condition. Godwin has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of his condition, Godwin has been experiencing an increased size of his head due to fluid accumulation. Without treatment, Godwin will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $765 to cover the cost of surgery for Godwin that will treat his hydrocephalus. The procedure is scheduled to take place on October 13th and will drain the excess fluid from Godwin's brain. This will reduce the intracranial pressure and greatly improve his quality of life. With proper treatment, Godwin will develop into a strong, healthy young boy. Godwin’s mother says “We can no longer raise the money needed to cover our son’s treatment. We are in debt and we have no one to run to, please help us."

Leakhen is a bright and hardworking 12-year-old girl. She and her brother live with their parents, who are rainy day farmers, in Takeo province in Cambodia. Leakhen enjoys playing with her brother, reading books, and doing homework. When she grows up, Leakhen would like to be a teacher. Leakhen was born with congenital scoliosis. Congenital scoliosis is the presence of an abnormal curvature of the spine. The curvature causes the spinal column to bend left or right. Leakhen is not able to stand up straight or expand her lungs, which causes her frequent fatigue and chronic pain. Because of the stress that scoliosis places on the vital organs of adolescents and their ability to grow, active treatment is required. If not corrected, she could experience progressive weakness, numbness, or a loss of coordination. Leakhen is embarrassed to go places because of her condition. She has had two previous surgical procedures, and surgeons have determined that she needs a revision of her spinal rod to help her heal. Leakhen and her family traveled to our medical partner’s care center to receive treatment. On September 17th, she will undergo a revision of her spinal rod. During this procedure, surgeons will implant and expand a rod to allow her to continue to grow normally. Our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre, is requesting $1,500 to fund this procedure. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care. This support will help her feel confident and be active like other children her age. Leakhen said, "I hope that my spine will look better and I can play with other children."

Teltila is a lively five-month-old girl from Ethiopia and a sibling to an older brother and sister. She is sociable, loves to play with her mom, and enjoys it when her mom talks to her. Her dad is physically impaired and unable to move around easily. He sells candies and some sweets on the street for a living and her mom is a housewife raising their three kids. His income is not enough to maintain the family but fortunately, they are supported by a foundation in their town that works with people with impairments. Teltila was born with a birth condition called anorectal malformation, a congenital abnormality that leads to a complete or partial intestinal blockage causing pain and complications. She developed bowel obstruction because of her condition and an emergency colostomy, one of the series of procedures needed to eliminate the condition, was done for her at our medical partner's care center, BethanyKids Myungsung Christian Medical Centre (BKMCM). She has had multiple issues with her colostomy care and associated complications and as a result, she continues to feel significant discomfort. According to her mother, Teltila had her first surgery when she was 45-days-old and unfortunately, the second surgery was delayed due to finances. The money they saved could only cover doctor reviews and some level of surgical fees. After getting an appointment, her bag was stolen with all the money and documents at a bus stop. Teltila's mother was devastated and did not know what to do. She heard of a charitable organization that supports the poor and went there to share her story. Teltila is scheduled to undergo surgery to correct her condition on August 12th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of Teltila's procedure and care. After her recovery, she will no longer experience bowel dysfunction or be at risk of developing health complications in the future. Teltila's mother says, "I am now so thankful. I lost all I had and I just received it back through you all. I hope my daughter will be treated."