Joseph is a five-month-old boy from Kenya. He is the youngest child in his family. He was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain. This causes pressure to build in his head, and puts Joseph at risk of brain damage. Fortunately, his family visited our medical partner's hospital, Bethany Kids Kijabe Hospital. On December 1, he underwent a shunt insertion to drain the fluid from his brain. Joseph has three siblings, two of them in primary school. His parents are farmers. They cannot afford this treatment, so our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $685 in funding. “I want my son to have fewer health complications," says Joseph's father.

Chanya is a 20-year-old waitress. She has two sisters and one brother. She likes to sing and hang out with her friends. When she was a young girl, Chanya had an ear infection in her left ear. Due to the long-standing infection, she developed a cholesteatoma, a skin growth in the middle ear. Since then, she experienced ear discharge, hearing loss, pain, and buzzing in her ear. In 2014, Chanya went to a hospital in Phnom Penh, where surgeons performed a mastoidectomy to treat her condition. However, the mastoidectomy was poorly done, and she continued to experience her uncomfortable symptoms. When Chanya learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), she traveled for half an hour to seek treatment. She was diagnosed with a residual cholesteatoma, which developed because her initial surgery failed to completely remove the original cholesteatoma. On December 16, ENT surgeons at CSC performed a mastoidectomy in Chanya's left ear. After recovery, her discharge and pain will stop, and her hearing will improve. CSC is requesting $842 to fund this procedure.

Purity is a newborn baby from Kenya. When she was born, she was diagnosed with spina bifida, a condition in which the spine develops improperly and is exposed. Purity was referred to our medical partner's care center, Bethany Kids Kijabe Hospital. Without treatment, she risked infection, spinal deformities, and paralysis of her lower limbs. Fortunately, on December 14, she underwent a spina bifida closure procedure. Purity is the youngest in a family of three children. Her family lives in a two-room house in central Kenya. Her parents are subsistence farmers. They cannot afford this treatment, so our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,097 in funding. "We are hoping to get help towards Purity’s surgical care," says her mother.

Sophat is a 37-year-old farmer with one daughter and one son. She likes to go to her farm, do housework, and take care of her children. When she was a child, Sophat developed an infection in her right ear. Since then, she has experienced ear discharge and hearing loss. Sophat's condition makes her unhappy and uncomfortable. Sophat was referred to our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), by an NGO that specializes in hearing disabilities. She traveled for six hours to seek treatment. She was diagnosed with a perforated tympanic membrane and tympanic membrane retraction that has caused the formation of a cholesteatoma. A cholesteatoma is a skin growth in the middle ear. On December 14, ENT surgeons performed a tympano-mastoidectomy surgery to repair her perforated eardrum and treat the cholesteatoma. After recovery, Sophat's hearing will improve. Now, CSC is requesting $842 in funding.