Fredrick is a 29-year-old farmer from Malawi. He lives with his parents and helps support them with the small profits he makes from selling Irish potatoes. Eighteen months ago, Fredrick started experiencing abdominal pain associated with an inguinal hernia. He was unable to seek medical treatment until now. An inguinal hernia is a protrusion of the intestines through a weak region in the abdominal muscles. The protrusion presents as a painful bulge in the groin, and the pain increases with coughing, bending at the waist, or lifting heavy objects. Without treatment, Fredrick is at risk of intestinal obstruction or strangulation, which can be life-threatening. For $613, Fredrick will undergo hernia repair surgery. During the procedure, surgeons push the protruding tissue back into the abdomen and sew together the weakened muscle with pieces of synthetic mesh. Over time, muscle tissue grows into and around the mesh to strengthen the area. Funding for Fredrick also covers the costs of three days of hospital care, including blood tests and medicine, as well as travel and meals for Fredrick and two caregivers. Fredrick is very excited about his hernia repair, and he is optimistic that everything will go well.

Dah Htoo is a 2-year-old boy who lives in Burma near the Thai border. He lives with his parents, uncle, grandmother, and newborn younger brother. Dah Htoo is a sociable little boy who loves watching cartoons and playing with his father. His father is a subsistence farmer who earns approximately 429 USD from his yearly crop. As this is not enough to cover the family’s expenses, his father sometimes works as a agricultural day laborer to earn extra money. Doing this he earns about 5 USD per day. When Dah Htoo was one-year-old, he was crawling in the kitchen, close to where his mother was cooking hot soup. Dah Htoo accidentally slipped and knocked over the boiling soup, spilling it over his arm. His parents took him straight to the village clinic where the medics bandaged his arm and hand. Initially, his arm was straight and he was able to hold out his hand. Gradually, the contracture has become worse over time and now he cannot straighten out his hand. Dah Htoo’s hand is no longer painful, but it is very inconvenient for him as he cannot use his right hand at all. This problem will get worse over time if he is unable to receive treatment. His arm is itchy and his parents are very anxious that he will be able to receive treatment. The quality of Dan Htoo's life will significantly improve with surgery. Surgery to treat Dah Htoo's burns costs $1,500. "When he is old enough, I would like my son to be able to go to school and get an education, so he will be able to lead a better life than we do now," Dah Htoo's father shares.

Joseph is just over three months old. When he was born in his home in Tanzania this past October, he developed jaundice, “but his mother did not notice until when his brother came to see the baby and commented on the [yellow] color of his eyes,” according to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). After taking her baby to the hospital, Joseph’s mother learned that his jaundice is being caused by a choledochal cyst, or an abnormal lump in his bile ducts. This “intra-abdominal mass is preventing the drainage of bile and pancreatic juice to the intestine to assist digestion,” AMHF tells us. If left untreated, choledochal cysts can be fatal, as they sometimes lead to complications such as pancreatitis and masses forming in the liver. Joseph urgently needs to undergo surgery to address this dangerous cyst in his abdomen. However, his mother, who earns her wages by farming a small plot of land and two cows, cannot afford to pay for the operation. In addition to Joseph, she and her husband must provide their seven other children with the basic needs of food, clothing, and school supplies. For $920, we can fund the operation that will remove his choledochal cyst. This sum will also pay for his six-day hospital stay post-operation, and a six-week stay at a children’s recover center, Plaster House. After this procedure, “There will be adequate bile and pancreatic juice flow to the intestine to assist digestion and Joseph will continue with normal growth,” AMHF says. Joseph’s mother shares, “I pray that my son will get well, have good health and continue with normal growth so that I too can start working and take better care of my children.”

Seven-year-old Khin is a first grade student at her school in Burma. She enjoys learning and wants to be a medic when she grows up. “Approximately five months ago, Khin’s father noticed that she was having vision problems and that her left eye was not focusing on the object of sight,” our medical partner, Burma Border Projects (BBP), tells us. “Problems with her vision have affected her ability and attendance at school.” Diagnostic testing revealed that Khin has an optic glioma, a tumor in the nerve that carries visual signals from the eye to the brain. Khin’s vision loss is a result of the tumor growing and pressing on the nerve and nearby structures. Treatment for Khin is surgery to remove the tumor. Khin’s father farms rice and vegetables on the family’s two acres of land. He also works as a day laborer to supplement their income from vegetable sales, but the work is irregular. Medical care for Khin’s mother has left the family in debt, leaving no money to pay for Khin’s surgery. With $1,500 in funding, Khin can undergo surgery to remove the tumor. Funding also pays for outpatient visits before and after surgery and 15 days of hospital care. “With treatment,” shares BBP, “Khin will be able to return to school, which she enjoys very much.” “I hope that my daughter will be able to have surgery and then will go on to finish her schooling and eventually attend higher education,” says Khin’s mother. Let’s help make that happen!