Shadia is a four-day-old baby from Tanzania. She is the youngest in a family of two children. Shadia's mother is a housewife, while her father sells vegetables at the market. Shadia was born with spina bifida, a type of neural tube defect in which the spine does not properly close around the spinal cord. Without treatment, Shadia is at risk of lower-limb paralysis, infection of the exposed nervous tissue, development of tethered cord syndrome, and possible developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $966 to cover the cost of Shadia's spina bifida closure surgery. The procedure is scheduled to take place on July 20. This procedure will hopefully spare Shadia from the risks associated with her condition, instead allowing her to grow and develop along a healthy trajectory. Shadia’s mother says, “Help our baby get the needed surgery. We have no means to afford the surgery.”