Nan Myint is a 17-year-old girl who lives in Ei Hel Village, Hpa-an Township, Karen State, Burma. She lives with her parents, four siblings, brother in-law, and one niece. Nan Myint and her youngest sister are students, and Nan Myint just finished ninth grade this year in March. In February 2018, Nan Myint got sick and started coughing. In March, her parents took her to a clinic, and Nan Myint received an echocardiogram. After checking the results, the doctor informed her parents that Nan Myint has a heart problem and requires surgery. Currently, Nan Myint experiences tiredness, heart palpitations, and difficulty breathing. She is not able to walk long distances. This year, she stopped going to school because of her symptoms. Fortunately, she is scheduled to undergo heart surgery on September 3. Her family needs help raising $1,500 to help fund this procedure. Nan Myint said, “I want to continue my studies to grade 10 after my treatment. I want to be a teacher in my village after my school.”

Bella is a seven-year-old boy who is in the second grade. He enjoys studying science and wants to be an engineer when he grows up. He also enjoys playing tennis and soccer. For the past year, he has had a recurrent infection, which makes it difficult for him to swallow, eat, and breathe. He is in pain. He needs to undergo a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy surgery to relieve his pain and get rid of the infection. Fortunately, surgery is scheduled for April 4. Now, his family needs help raising $221 to fund the procedure. His mother says, "I hope my son's surgery will help him sleep better and he won't be sick anymore."

Reagan is a four-year-old boy from Kenya. He was born with multiple birth defects that required surgery at a young age. He cannot walk, but he attends school and is a top performer in his grade. Reagan was experiencing pain and discomfort. He was diagnosed with a hydrocele in his groin. On November 10, he underwent repair surgery. Reagan lives with his parents and older brother in a two-room rental house in the Nairobi suburbs. His father sells tomatoes to support the family, while his mother stays at home to care for the children. They have used all of their savings on Reagan's previous treatments, so they need help to fund this $423 procedure. “This has been more than a journey for us, not that we are about to give up," says Reagan's mother. "His smile drives us to focus more on his wellbeing. We will appreciate if we get help."

Mary is a cute little baby girl who was born less than one month ago in Tanzania. She is the third child in her family, and she is loved by all of her family members. Mary was born with an open lesion on her lower back that is leaking cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Her condition—known as spina bifida—is a birth defect in which several vertebrae in the lower back do not close properly, leaving the baby’s spinal canal exposed. The spinal cord and its surrounding membranes protrude through the opening in the backbone, forming a sac on the baby’s lower back that may tear and leak. If not treated, Mary will be at risk of easily contracting an infection, and she will continue to lose CSF, which could be fatal. As is common in infants with spina bifida, Mary also has hydrocephalus, a condition in which there is an accumulation of CSF in the brain. Too much fluid can increase pressure on the brain and inside the skull, leading to an enlarged head and developmental issues. Mary's head is unusually soft, and the circumference has slowly been increasing in size. Mary’s parents are small-scale farmers who rely on growing and selling maize and beans to support their family. As much as they would like to help their daughter, the cost of surgery is too expensive for them. Her mother worries about what will happen to Mary, as she has never seen a child with this condition. Fortunately, the baby girl is feeding well. For $1,200 in funding, Mary will undergo two surgical procedures to close the lesion on her spine and drain the excess fluid from her brain. First, doctors will place the spinal cord and membranes back inside the spinal canal and close the opening on her back. Next, they will place a shunt in Mary's brain to drain the excess fluid and transport it to her abdomen, where it can be resorbed by the body. Funding for Mary also includes 10 days of hospital care, lab tests, medicine, five physical therapy sessions, and a two-week stay at The Plaster House for recovery and rehabilitation. “How we wish our daughter to get well," shares Mary's mother. "We’ll take her to school so that she can study and later on get a good job and live an independent life."