"As Angelina kept growing, so did the mass," says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). "Despite her condition, Angelina is an active and happy baby." Seven-month-old Angelina is from Tanzania, and was born with a closed myelomeningocele -- a mass on her lower back which can rupture anytime. If it were to rupture, AMHF tells us, the loss of cerebral spinal fluid would be life-threatening for her. For $1100, AMHF can operate on Angelina and remove the mass. She will no longer have the condition and her family will not need worry about a potential rupture. Her parents work hard selling maize and millet to support the family, but cannot come up with the funds for her surgery. “It is our great hope that our daughter will get the right treatment to remove the swelling on her lower back as it keeps growing bigger and bigger," says Angelina's mother. "We want her to be able to crawl, walk and continue with normal growth like the rest of our children so that later on she can also go to school."

Paw Day lives with her 18-year-old daughter in rural Burma. Her daughter has polio and is physically disabled; as a result she requires a great deal of care from her mother. Paw Day and her husband often have to rely on the rest of their family for financial assistance in order to pay for their daughter’s medication and other needs. But recently, Paw Day herself has been dealing with health issues. She was diagnosed with uterine prolapse three years ago, a condition which causes the uterus to fall past the pelvic floor and is characterized by considerable pain in the abdomen and pelvic region, along with difficulty passing urine, back pain, and constipation. In addition to these symptoms, Paw Day feels weak and gets tired very easily, making it very challenging for her to care of herself and her daughter in addition to doing physical labor and household chores. Paw Day needs a hysterectomy, which costs $1,500. Our medical partner expects that once Paw Day undergoes surgery and recovers from her treatment she will regain her strength and be free of pain and discomfort. "She will be able to do household chores and taking care of her daughter and herself. When she is healthy she will be happy again," they write.

Meet eight-year-old Mi Soe! Mi Soe lives with her parents and younger brother in Thailand. Her parents work as agricultural day laborers in their village, planting beans and corn to make money. Due to the seasonal nature of their work, they sometimes aren’t able to make ends meet and have to ask around for small loans. Despite their circumstances, Mi Soe’s mother dreams of sending Mi Soe and her brother to school. “When Mi Soe was just two years old," our medical partner writes, "she began showing signs of Thalassemia,” a genetic disorder which causes the body to produce abnormal hemoglobin resulting in symptoms like anemia, fatigue and stunted growth. "She had a fever and couldn't eat or sleep, she became very weak and wasn't able to walk. Since then she has had to come regularly to a clinic along the border for blood transfusions and medicine.” Mi Soe can’t attend school because she is too weak to walk. Without treatment, Mi Soe will continue to experience fatigue, jaundice, abdominal swelling, shortness of breath and overall weakness. For $1,000, Mi Soe will receive a splenectomy, or a spleen removal, with professional medical care before, during and after her surgery. This treatment will increase Mi Soe’s energy levels and overall appetite while reducing abdominal swelling. Eventually, she will have enough energy to walk again so she can go to school.

Bahati is in preschool. He enjoys drawing and coloring pictures. His father works at a timber company and his mother sells produce from her small vegetable garden. Bahati likes to play with the other children in school, but experiences pain in his leg and sometimes cannot run. Our medical partner, the African Mission Healthcare Foundation, has diagnosed him with chronic osteomyelitis of the right tibia, which means that his right shin bone is infected. Bahati's doctors report, "he has pus discharging sinuses below his right knee. He sometimes walks with difficulty. Bahati is at risk of pathological fracture of the tibia, if not treated." His mother tells us, “I am very afraid that if Bahati doesn't receive treatment soon, my son will end up losing his leg. He is so full of life and has opportunities for a better future; we wouldn’t like to see Bahati held back in life because of his leg.” The surgery to remove the infected bone portions, plus antibiotics, costs $1000. Bahati’s doctors add, "the treatment will control infection of the tibia, allow healing of the bone and stop [the] pus drenching sinus. Bahati will be able to concentrate on his studies; play and have normal growth."

Theara is a 15-year-old student from Cambodia. She has five other siblings who keep her parents extremely busy! A month ago, Theara was climbing a tree when she feel and broke her left arm. “She has had treatment from a traditional healer, but the bone has not united,” writes our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre. “Theara needs surgery to align the bone.” However, with so many mouths to feed, Theara’s parents cannot afford the cost of her treatment. For $300, Theara will receive the surgery she needs to realign her bone. After surgery, Theara will be pain-free and her arm’s functionality will be completely restored.

Mary is a 12-year-old girl from Tanzania who is the second born out of seven children. She dreams of working as a nurse in her district’s hospital. Mary used to attend primary school, but had to stop in her fourth year. The long walk to school is too difficult for Mary to manage because she has knocked knees, which causes her a lot of pain when she walks and puts her at risk for developing early arthritis. Even though she can’t go to school, Mary works hard and helps her widowed mother with chores around the house. Her mother grows vegetables, beans and maize to sell, but barely earns enough to cover the family’s expenses. Mary’s uncle has been working to find a way for Mary to get surgery so she can go back to school. “I miss going to school and playing with other students. I hope I can be treated so that I can go back to school and also be able to help my mother fetch some water, firewood and do other things,” says Mary. For $940, we can fund Mary's corrective surgery to fix her knocked knees. This will allow her to walk without pain and get back to school, so she can achieve her dream of becoming a nurse!

Tu Tu is an 18-year-old girl living with her parents and brother in rural Burma. Our medical partner tells us, "Tutu has experienced cardiac symptoms since she was 9-years-old. These symptoms include heart palpitations, fatigue, pain in her chest and seizures.” Tu Tu has a condition known as tetralogy of fallot, a congenital heart defect. Her condition has kept her from doing many of the things she wants to do. Our partners tell us that Tu Tu’s heart condition has “made it difficult for her to attend school and study. She also finds it difficult to help her mother with her house chores and cannot contribute to the family farm… she wishes to be like the other teenagers in her village who can do things for themselves and help their families.” Her parents work on their rice farm for a living, but they simply do not make enough to cover the costs of Tu Tu’s treatment. For $1500, Tu Tu will get total correction surgical repair for her tetralogy of fallot. This treatment will greatly decrease the chest pain and fatigue Tu Tu now feels regularly. Due to her condition, Tu Tu had to drop out of school a few years ago. After treatment Tu Tu says she, "hopes to return to school so she can realize her dream of becoming a teacher.” Let’s come together and raise the money for Tu Tu to have this surgery and gain the freedom to do what she wants with her life!

Meet Fostina! She is a sweet, ten-year-old girl from Zambia who “was nothing but healthy and brought only joy to her family” for the first six of years of her life, according to our medical partner CURE International. Then, at age six, her family began to notice a slight bow in her legs, but doctors had high hopes she would outgrow the condition. The opposite happened. Now at ten years of age, her legs are severely bowed out and far beyond the ability of her local doctor to correct. "Fostina has trouble walking," her doctors say, "which is extremely painful, awkward, and embarrassing. This also causes stress on other joints in her ankles and hips and she has experienced social difficulties due to her very noticeable disability, because her culture largely believes in curses.” Thankfully, Fostina was referred to our partner, CURE International. Fostina has already had one successful surgery, thanks to Watsi donors. She needs our help to fund her final operation. For $1000, Fostima will receive a proximal tibial osteotomy, which will correctly realign her legs. She is expected to recover fully; she will walk out pain-free and with a new source of confidence.

Birendra is a sweet nine-year-old boy from Nepal. He fell into a pot of hot oil when he was just a year old, sustaining serious burns on his head. The burns were never properly treated. Now, the resulting scar tissue is preventing the skin on his head from fully healing, and his hair from growing. Birendra is in fourth grade and lives with his mother, grandmother, siblings, and uncle’s family. As is common in Nepal, his father works in India and sends money home. Birendra is well loved - his grandmother confided in our medical partner that he is her favorite grandson! For $1,415, we can pay for surgery that will repair the skin on Birendra's head and allow him to move past this childhood accident.

Meet Philicia, a brave 35-year-old woman from Kenya. Philicia has uterine fibroids, a condition that causes infertility, pain, and heavy bleeding that could lead to severe anemia. Philicia's condition requires a total abdominal hysterectomy. She has been married for three years, but has no children. Her husband told the doctors that “it's better not to have children but have my wife in good health." Philicia works hard as a housemaid, but even in addition to her husband's income, she cannot afford the cost of her treatment. This is a strenuous condition both physically and emotionally for Philicia. Let's fund her $885 procedure, so she can focus on returning to good health.

Meet Rupa! She's interested in local and international politics, and wants her son to become a health specialist. She also has kidney stones, which she can't afford to have treated. Rupa, who herds animals and farms for a living, started having pain on her side six years ago. The discomfort makes it difficult for Rupa to walk, let alone care for her livestock. The procedure to remove the kidney stones to prevent urinary tract infections and further damage will cost $765. Let's fund her treatment so she can get back to living a healthy life!