Alvis is an 18-month-old boy from Kenya. He lives in Nairobi with his family of two children. Alvis's father works as a painter, and his mother stays home to care for the children. Recently, he has been experiencing vomiting and troubling symptoms. The family visited many hospitals but did not receive a diagnosis or treatment due to lack of money. Finally, the family visited our medical partner's care center. Alvis has a brain tumor. Without treatment, the tumor may lead to vision loss, brain damage, or death. Fortunately, he will undergo a craniotomy to remove the tumor on March 26. His family needs help raising $1,500 to fund surgery. “At night I twist and turn worried from the heart retching cries from Alvis and occasionally drift into nightmares of having lost him. I have faith that this will change soon,” shares Alvis’s mother.

Kervens is a toddler from Haiti. He lives in a small town in far northern Haiti with his mother and grandmother. He likes playing with the children in his neighborhood and helping his mother around the house. Kervens has a cardiac condition called ventricular septal defect, in which multiple holes exist between the two lower chambers of his heart. Blood leaks through this hole without passing through his lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving him sickly and weak. He will fly to Toronto to receive treatment. On March 7, he will undergo cardiac surgery. Another organization, The Herbie Fund, is contributing $45,000 to pay for surgery. Kervens's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep. The $1,500 bill covers labs, medicines, and checkup and followup appointments. It also supports passport obtainment and the social workers from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Kervens's family overseas. His mother says, "I am very excited for Kervens to have more energy and to get sick less often after his surgery."

Sok is a 59-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. She is married with six children. She sometimes makes noodles in front of her her home to sell. She has experienced gradually worsening knee pain over the last six years. She is finding it difficult to work as a farmer. Fortunately, Sok learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre. At CSC, surgeons can perform a total knee replacement to relieve Sok of her pain and allow her to walk easily. Treatment is scheduled for January 9, and Sok needs help raising $1,025 to pay for this procedure. She says, "After the operation I hope I can walk normally and without pain, and I will find a new easy job at home."

Oriana is a 70-year-old mother of five kids. She lives in a town in the southern province of Haiti. About a year ago, while laying down, Oriana felt something hard in her breast. She went to the hospital, and the doctor sent her to get a mammogram in Port-au-Prince, the capital. She went to the hospital, met with the doctors there, and had a biopsy. The results showed that it was breast cancer. Oriana was referred to our medical partner's care center, St. Luc Family Hospital. She has had four sessions of chemotherapy. Now, our medical partner, Innovating Health International, is requesting $1,085 to fund surgery to remove the tumor in Oriana's breast. The operation is scheduled to take place on July 29. With this surgery, Oriana will likely regain her previous quality of life. She is looking forward to becoming more involved in her church.

Chheng is a 19-year-old farmer from Cambodia. In her spare time, Chheng enjoys doing housework and watching TV. When Chheng was six years old, she developed an ear infection, which ended up rupturing the ear drum (or tympanic membrane) on both sides. Chheng currently experiences ear discharge, hearing loss, and ringing in the ears. After traveling for four hours with her mother, Chheng reached our medical partner's care center for treatment. On August 3, surgeons will perform a myringoplasty procedure to repair the perforated ear drum in Chheng's right ear. Chheng will need to return to have the same procedure performed in the other ear. Surgeons expect Chheng's hearing to improve over time. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $831 to help pay for Chheng's surgery.

Marie-Nicole is a 42-year-old mother of seven from Haiti. She also has two grandchildren. Before the development of her condition, Marie-Nicole used to work as a housekeeper. In the future, Marie-Nicole would like to become a vendor, particularly because she likes the idea of selling different items depending on what is trending. In August of 2016, Marie-Nicole noticed a small mass on her left breast. While she initially did not think much of it because of its size, Marie-Nicole grew increasingly worried as the mass grew and began to cause her pain. At our medical partner's care center, St. Luc Family Hospital, a biopsy confirmed Marie-Nicole's diagnosis with breast cancer. She has since undergone four sessions of chemotherapy. Our medical partner, Innovating Health International, is requesting $1,085 to fund a mastectomy for Marie-Nicole, which is scheduled to take place on July 29. The procedure will greatly decrease the risk of cancer metastasis and will hopefully allow her to return to the activities that she greatly enjoys. Marie-Nicole is excited to be able to receive this treatment and looks forward to getting her health back.

Lyse is an eight-year-old girl from Haiti. She lives with her mother, father and two younger sisters in Port-au-Prince. Her mother works as a pediatric nurse, and her father works as an office administrator to support their family. Lyse is in the fourth grade and is an extremely intelligent and focused student. Lyse was born with patent ductus arteriosus, a cardiac condition in which a hole in the heart that normally closes shortly after birth remains open. As a result, blood leaks through this hole without first passing through the lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving Lyse feeling weak and short of breath. Lyse will travel to the Dominican Republic to receive treatment. On August 24, she will undergo cardiac surgery. This $5,000 surgery is subsidized by International Children's Heart Foundation. Lyse's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep. The $1,500 bill covers labs, medicines, and checkup and followup appointments. It also supports passport obtainment and the social workers from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Lyse's family. "I would like to say thank you to everyone who is helping me to have a normal heart!" says Lyse.

Meet Moses, a 35 year old father of four children. He lives in Kenya with his family, in a two roomed rental house. Moses was in a road accident in February 2014. He used to be a truck driver. He did not get insurance coverage. Since the accident, Moses has not been able to walk. He thus stays at home unable to provide for his family. To raise his family, he relies on donations from friends and a local church. Two of his children are sponsored by a local church because Moses has not been able to get any meaningful source of income. His wife works as a cleaner to supplement the family. Moses has had several surgeries, which has left him in financial crisis due to high bills. Previous bills accumulated to 936,000 Ksh ($9,750) and Moses and his family were not able to raise half the bill. He has not been able to raise the treatment cost for the current treatment and thus is in need of financial support. If not treated, Moses may suffer severe infection that may result in amputation. Moses says, “I want to get well to educate my children; I don’t want to be a burden to people any more."

Meet Vanny, a 63-year-old woman, married with two sons and four daughters. She enjoys spending time at home with her children and cooking food. She traveled eight hours with her husband to reach our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). Vanny has left hip pain and is unable to walk. She began having hip pain when she fell down weeks ago. An x-ray at CSC shows a left femoral neck fracture, and she currently uses a wheelchair to get around. Surgeons at CSC will perform a hemiarthroplasty operation to replace the femoral neck. The surgical operation will replace the broken part of her hip with a prosthetic. She will be able to walk again and without pain after her operation. Let's help Vanny get back on her feet!

Dharma is a six-year-old boy from Nepal who currently studies in the second standard. He enjoys solving problems in mathematics and is concerned about missing school because he will have to rest after his surgery. Dharma has been living with a hernia-- a protrusion of intestinal tissue through the abdominal wall-- for a few months now. When it hurt him initially, he was too shy to tell anyone. When his brother found out about Dharma's condition, he informed their mother. His mother finally brought him to the hospital when Dharma's hernia had gotten too painful and hard in the last week. Dharma is one of a family of six, and he has one elder and one younger brother. His father stayed back home to look after the youngest son and his own brother. They tend to the farm year round and look after their cattle to keep the family going. The family needs financial assistance to cover the $491 hernia repair surgery for their son. During the procedure, doctors will return the herniated tissue to the abdominal cavity and mend the weakened area in the abdominal wall. After surgery, Dharma will be pain free once again and able to return to school. "I hope Dharma's treatment happens soon," says Dharma's mother. "There is a lot of work to do back home and with each passing day, the work is pending." Let's help fund Dharma's procedure and get him back to school.

"I want to be well and cancer free," shares Eunice, a 31-year-old woman from Kenya. In September 2015 doctors from our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), found that Eunice had a precancerous lesion in her cervix. They performed a biopsy procedure and it has been determined that if left untreated Eunice is at risk of developing cervical cancer. Eunice is a wife and mother of three children. She lives with her family in a single-roomed rental house in Kenya. Eunice sells fish while her husband works as a cook to support the family. Their family income is low and they are not able to meet the treatment cost. Eunice is in need of a total abdominal hysterectomy to remove her uterus and reduce her risk of cancer. $800 will fund Eunice's surgery, and a four-day hospital stay to ensure a proper recovery.

"I am unhappy that I have ear pain, and it is difficult to communicate with other people," says Vichet, a 28-year-old farmer from Cambodia. Vichet began having discharge and hearing loss in his left ear when he was seven years old. His left tympanic membrane, or eardrum, is perforated. This causes him chronic ear infections and tinnitus-- a ringing or buzzing in the ear. Vichet is married with two daughters, and he enjoys playing football and taking care of plants. He traveled two hours with his uncle to reach Watsi's medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), for treatment. Vichet and his family need assistance to pay for a $399 myringoplasty procedure, during which doctors will surgically repair his perforated eardrum. After the surgery and one to two days of post-operational care, Vichet's discharge will stop and his hearing will improve.