Karijn van der HeijUNIVERSAL FUND MEMBER
Karijn's Story

Karijn joined Watsi on December 13th, 2014. Nine years ago, Karijn joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Karijn's most recent donation traveled 3,600 miles to support Siltan, a 4-year-old girl from Ethiopia, to fund corrective surgery and prevent future health complications.

Impact

Karijn has funded healthcare for 111 patients in 16 countries.

Patients funded by Karijn

Naw Aye is a 28-year-old woman who lives with her husband, son, sister-in-law, brother, two nephews, and two nieces in a refugee camp in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand. Originally from across the Burmese border in a conflict-area called Karen State, she fled to the refugee camp with her family in February 2023 due to airstrikes on her village. Her husband and her brother are unemployed, while her son, nieces, and nephews go to school. She and her sister-in-law are homemakers. During her free time, she loves to play with her son and enjoys planting vegetables in her small garden. She is currently expecting her second child. Her doctors recommended that she deliver via cesarean section because In January 2020, when Naw Aye was pregnant with her first child, her water broke prematurely which put her baby's life at risk. She was brought to a hospital in Burma, where she gave birth to her son through a caesarean section (C-section). In February, after they had fled to the refugee camp, Naw Aye became pregnant. She went to the hospital in the refugee camp regularly for antenatal care. She was told during one of her visits that although her pregnancy was going well, she would need to give birth through a C-section to ensure the safety of both mother and child. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, will help ensure a safe C-section on November 3rd. This procedure costs $1500, and Naw Aye needs your support. “I want to sell sacks or Mohinga (Burmese soup) for extra income soon. But I don’t have enough cash to start doing that, and I am pregnant. I hope I can do that after I give birth,” Naw Aye said.

$1,122raised
$378to go

Leonard is a 41-year-old lumberjack from Kenya. He is a bachelor, has no children, and lives alone in his grandfather’s place. His work as a lumberjack is seasonal and he sometimes works on peoples' farms to earn money for basic needs. His relatives live in faraway places and are of limited socio-economic status. Leonard has no medical coverage and cannot raise the money required for his needed medical treatment. Leonard was injured while felling trees. One of the trees fell on Leonard, hitting him on his right hip. He fell, and the people with him ran away, thinking he had died. Leonard was unable to walk and slept at the scene. Luckily one of his neighbors passed by and found him. Leonard's neighbors carried him to the hospital for treatment as he could not stand or walk. An x-ray revealed that he had a complete fracture of the upper end of his right femur. He is now admitted to the surgical ward on bed rest because his fracture is at a weight-bearing joint. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On October 2nd, Leonard will undergo a fracture repair procedure called an open reduction and internal fixation. A surgeon will make an incision, realign the bones, and insert hardware to hold the bones together. Subsequently, after recovery, Leonard will be able to walk again. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $1,247 to fund this procedure. Leonard says, “It is so sad that I cannot now walk but I thank God that I am alive because that tree was big. Please help me so that I may be able to work and be able to sustain myself because I have nobody to depend on.”

$1,247raised
Fully funded

Tha Zin is a 43-year-old woman from Thailand. She lives in a refugee camp in Tak Province with her husband and two sons. Tha Zin and her husband run a shop in the refugee camp. Their total monthly income is not enough to cover their basic expenses, and sometimes Tha Zin needs to borrow money with interest from her neighbor for her children’s school expenses. Tha Zin shared that in her free time she loves reading the Bible, praying, and knitting hats for her family. In 2022, Tha Zin started to experience pain when sitting. She also experienced bleeding in a sensitive area. In the refugee camp, they receive free basic health care from the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Tha Zin went to the hospital in the refugee camp, where they completed a physical examination, diagnosed her with severe hemorrhoids, and provided her with basic medication. While Tha Zin took the medication, she felt relieved, but after she finished her medication, the pain worsened, and she experienced increased swelling and inflammation. As time went on, the pain worsened. She felt it was harder to stand up, walk or sit. Currently, Tha Zin feels like she has less energy and has difficulty completing her everyday tasks. She also experiences difficulty sleeping due to her worries about her condition. Tha Zin sought treatment through our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund. She is now scheduled to undergo surgery on June 2nd at our partner's care center. Tha Zin needs your help to raise $1,500 to cover the cost of her procedure and care. Tha Zin said, “Because of my illness, I had to close my shop and leave my two children with my relatives. So, I worry about them. But I am thankful to those who will support my surgery because I cannot afford to pay for it by myself. When I recover, I will reopen my shop and pay back my debt that I borrowed for my children’s school expenses. If my family has the opportunity to do so, I want us to be resettled in a new country one day.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded