Miliyasi is a 71-year-old man from central Malawi, where he works as a security guard. Miliyasi is a widower, and he lives with a few of his children. He has a total of four children and ten grandchildren. Miliyasi spends his days guarding a private home. After his workday is over, he goes home to tend his garden and the animals that he raises. In his free time, Miliyasi likes to spend time at his local church fellowship with his friends and family. In the last month, Miliyasi started to experience trouble urinating, which caused him to be in a lot of pain. He then visited our medical partner's care center, Nkhoma Hospital. There, it was determined that Miliyasi has an enlarged prostate, which is causing his urinary difficulty. Doctors have scheduled a prostate resection for April 18, and our medical partner, World Altering Medicine, is requesting $733 to fund the procedure. "I give thanks to Watsi. I will be very happy when everything goes well," says Miliyasi.

Koem Hor is a four-year-old girl from Cambodia who lives with her mother and three siblings. She likes to play with toys with her brothers and spend time with her mother. This little girl developed quadriceps fibrosis in each leg after receiving poorly administered shots in both thighs when she was just one year old. This condition renders her unable to bend her leg and can progressively get worse if left untreated. Her mother heard of our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), from a relative. Together, they traveled for four hours to receive treatment. Surgeons performed a quadriceplasty in her left leg during her first visit on December 17, 2015. Koem Hor now returns to CSC to have the same procedure in her right leg. CSC is requesting $425 to help Koem Hor regain normal mobility in both her legs so that she can happily play with her siblings. Her procedure is scheduled for February 28.

Wat Way Di is a 23-year-old woman living in a refugee camp in Thailand with some extended family members. She was born in Burma to a family of three siblings and her father. Wat Way Di primarily relies on the food and healthcare provided by the refugee camp. Three years ago, Wat Way Di started feeling fatigue, chest pain, and dizziness. She was unable to walk far without becoming short of breath. At times she had trouble sleeping and eating. She had to stop her schooling due to her symptoms, and has been living with her relatives in the camp. She is unable to work and at times has difficulty doing basic chores around the house, like cooking dinner. She also is unable to carry water in the camp, which is vital for their water supply. She returned to Burma last year to become a midwife, but was unable to complete her classes, and is now unemployed. Wat Way Di likes to draw and, when possible, she draws different pictures. She went to the camp's clinic, and was referred to a local hospital for further evaluation. She was then found with non-rheumatic mitral stenosis, and was recommended for cardiac surgery. Mitral stenosis is when the mitral valve of the heart becomes narrow and dysfunctional, blocking blood flow into the main pumping chamber. Wat Way Di could not afford the procedure, and since then she has been on prescription medication. She currently treks to the hospital every two months to refill her prescriptions. Two years ago, Wat Way Di tried seeking treatment for her symptoms in Burma while visiting her family, but after some imaging testing she was sent home without receiving any treatment. Wat Way Di explains that it is difficult for her family to access healthcare in Burma because they must have payment in full at the time of treatment. For $1,500, Wat Way Di can have the surgery she needs. After she fully recovers, Wat Way Di anticipates being well enough to work as a midwife. "I hope that once I receive surgery I can return to my village in Burma, become a midwife, and take care of women and children," Wat Way Di says. "I believe that I can support my family through my work as a midwife."

Andrea is a five-month-old girl from Guatemala, who was born 13 weeks early because her mother had preeclampsia. She had to be on a ventilator the first two and a half months of her life. She has struggled to grow since then, and doctors have been puzzled with her case. First it was believed that she had sepsis, then lactose intolerance, but now her diagnosis is clearer. She has a rare genetic condition called Isovaleric Acidemia. This means that she cannot metabolize certain amino acids, meaning they accumulate in her body, reaching toxic levels. The public health care system in Guatemala in unequipped to handle her case, since her condition is so rare. If she does not receive treatment, she will likely pass away. Andrea is the youngest of two children. Her older brother, Diego, loves her a lot and often plays with her, showing her toys. Andrea's mother says that Andrea is a fighter--in her few months of life, she has spent half of it in intensive care, and has received 7 blood transfusions. Although her parents work hard to give her the best they can, her mother is unable to work because of Andrea, and her father cannot make enough money to purchase the extremely expensive formula that Andrea needs to consume to survive. This treatment, which costs $1016, will save Andrea's life. Right now, she is far too small for her age, and is struggling to gain weight. Not only will her physical strength improve with special formula, but her immune system will grow stronger, giving her body what it needs to fight off potentially-deadly sicknesses in her weakened state. Andrea's improvement will give her family hope that she can one day go to school, and be able to live with and manage her condition. "I hope that God allows the miracle of her recovery from this condition that she has," Andrea's mother shares. "I want her to be like a normal child her age, to be able to eat, go to parties with her friends, and not have restrictions."

Joyce is a young, 32-year-old mother of three from Kenya. She lives in a single roomed house with her family in a slum outside of Nairobi. Her husband works at a construction site in Nairobi and this is where he gets money for the upkeep of his family. In December 2014, Joyce felt a lump on her breast and came to Kijabe hospital for a checkup. She was referred to a different facility for chemotherapy. Having finished the sessions, she now requires a mastectomy but is unable to raise the amount needed. During the chemotherapy sessions, Joyce used to walk from one place to another and would ask people to contribute to her treatment, and that is how she raised the funds to meet the cost. As she lives with cancer, Joyce has not been able to attend to her work as a beauty salonist consistently due to pain, and attending previous chemotheraphy sessions that caused her fatigue. If not treated, Joyce is at risk of having the cancer spread to other parts of her body, which might result in premature death. After treatment, the risk of cancer spreading to other parts of Joyce’s body will be lowered which might have caused death. Joyce will be able to attend to her work at the beauty salon and take care of her family. “I want to be free from cancer and have a long life so that I can raise my children," Joyce said.

Meet 15-day-old Delia, who lives with her family in a rural village in Guatemala. She is the youngest of her six siblings. Our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK), explains that Delia’s mother has lactation failure, which is when a new mother produces either insufficient or no breast milk at all. “Delia was born with a healthy birth weight of 7 pounds, but after 12 days she had lost weight and made the nurses at the health center very worried,” shares WK. Her mother is not producing enough breast milk, and consequently Delia is not receiving enough calories to survive. “I am eating certain foods and trying to make my milk thicker for my baby but it is just not enough,” she explains. For $1220, Delia’s mother can receive treatment and educational support to help Delia's condition improve. “This treatment will provide the family with lifesaving formula that will provide Delia with the calories and nutrients she needs to grow,” says WK. “Her mother will participate in one on one education classes to help her not only use the formula, but understand when and how to start implementing solid food into her daughter’s diet to prevent malnutrition.” WK explains that lactation failure is easily treatable. “I appreciate that you want to help us,” shares Delia’s mother, “I want to see my daughter grow up and be healthy like other children.”

Meet Gideon, a three-month-old boy living in Kenya. Gideon was found wrapped in a towel as a newborn alongside a road, and he now resides in a foster home where he has been generally doing well. “Gideon had no major health issues until recently when he became quite irritable,” says our medical partner, American Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Gideon has craniosyntosis, a birth defect in which the plates of his skull fused prematurely. This prevents Gideon’s brain from growing naturally and often results in a misshapen skull. If left untreated, the intracranial pressure may increase, resulting in potential brain damage and/or death. “His condition has been deteriorating,” AMHF shares, “and unfortunately…the home that Gideon lives in is not able to raise the funds for his treatment.” With $1,260, Gideon can undergo a craniotomy to surgically remove a portion of the skull and release the intracranial pressure. “We love Gideon so much,” says Grace, a well-wisher from Gideon's foster home. “It will not be easy for him to grow up knowing that his parents abandoned him. We will give him the best we can to make him feel loved.”

This hard-working mother of two is Estela, a 32-year-old woman who lives with her family in Guatemala. Ten years ago, Estela was diagnosed with diabetes. She visited local clinic because her vision was failing, she was feeling weak, and losing weight. After the diagnosis, Estela received no care, except for a prescription she wasn't able to afford. Estela visited our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK), and they shared that "after an examination, it became clear that Estela needs insulin to regulate her diabetes and protect her from worse side effects; including complete vision loss, kidney failure, risk of gangrene, heart complications and neuropathy." Without treatment she could become incapacitated and unable to care for her two teenage children, which could mean that they would need to drop out of school to care for their mother. For $450, Estela will receive the insulin regimen she needs to keep her diabetes under control. She tells WK, "I just want to be the best I can be for my children. I need to keep working so that they can have a better future. That is what i am dedicated to." With this treatment Estela will regain some of her vision, and no longer experience chronic fatigue or more negative long term side effects of this chronic condition.