Waily is five years old and lives in a small city in southern Dominican Republic with his parents and two brothers. He is in kindergarten. His favorite activity is to go to birthday parties. Waily was born with a cardiac condition called atrial septal defect, in which a hole exists between the two upper chambers of his heart. Blood leaks through this hole without first passing through the lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving him sickly and weak. Although Waily is not Haitian, our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, is collaborating with their partners in the Dominican Republic to offer treatment to Dominican children. He will undergo cardiac surgery at our medical partner's care center. First, Waily will undergo a full cardiac assessment on February 14. This assessment will include physical exams, labs, and an overnight stay at the hospital. Haiti Cardiac Alliance is requesting $1,500 to fund these procedures. Funding for Waily also covers the cost of medications and social support for him and him family. Gift of Life International is contributing $7,000 to cover additional costs associated with Waily's surgical care. "We are very thankful to everyone who is helping Waily receive this surgery, and we are hopeful that he will return in good health after his surgery is finished," says Waily's mother.

Chisomo is an 11-year-old boy from the Central Region of Malawi. He lives with his mother, father, and four brothers and sisters. He loves going to school and excels in math. When not doing his school work, he likes to play football with his friends. In February, Chisomo developed a painful hernia in his lower abdominal region. The pain has kept him from attending school regularly and playing with his friends. His parents are very concerned for their son's health, but do not have the money to pay for the corrective surgery. They were very excited to hear about the opportunity to receive funding. Our medical partner, World Altering Medicine, is requesting $334 to cover the cost of Chisomo's hernia surgery. He is scheduled to undergo treatment on March 23 at our medical partner's care center, Nkhoma Hospital. Chisomo and his family are very excited for him to have his operation.

Meet Chrissy, a 40-year-old married mother from Kabowa, Malawi. She lives with her husband, four children, and three grandchildren. When Chrissy is not working on the farm or at home, she loves spending time with her grandchildren. In December 2016, Chrissy developed severe abdominal pain. Doctors at our medical partner's care center, Nkhoma Hospital, diagnosed Chrissy with an ovarian cyst. On March 9, Chrissy will undergo an ovarian cystectomy to remove the cyst. Our medical partner, World Altering Medicine, is requesting $541 in donations to cover the costs of Chrissy's treatment. Doctors expect Chrissy to make a full recovery and return to her normal, daily life. Chrissy says, "I am very grateful as I need this surgery."

Srey Rey is a 19-year-old farmer from Cambodia. She two sisters and three brothers. She enjoys cooking, listening to music, and watching movies. In February of 2012, Srey Rey was hit by a car, causing a head injury that knocked her unconscious for more than 24 hours. She was taken to a local hospital and, upon regaining consciousness, found she was unable to move her arms. Over time, Srey Rey has regained some mobility in her shoulder and elbow. To this day, she has great difficulty moving both her right and left hands. Srey Rey traveled four hours to reach our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, in hopes of regaining use of her hands. Srey Rey is scheduled to receive treatment on January 20. Surgeons will perform a tendon transfer in her right hand, restoring function to that hand. Our medical partner is requesting $450 to cover the cost of the operation, medication, and four nights of hospital stay.

Kosal is currently ten years old and in the fifth grade. At home, he has two older brothers. Like any boy his age, he enjoys watching TV, reading books, and playing games. When he was five years old, Kosal developed an infection in his left ear. He did not receive treatment, and eventually the infection to spread to his right ear. He has now been diagnosed with chronic otitis media, or inflammation in his middle ear, which has caused both of his eardrums to rupture. As a result, he commonly experiences fluid discharge from his ears, hearing loss, and tinnitus, or the perception of a ringing or buzzing sound in the easr. After finding out about the care that our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), could provide, Kosal and his mother traveled over three hours by taxi so that he could have surgery at CSC on August 30, 2016. There, ENT surgeons successfully performed a myringotomy procedure in Kosal's right ear to treat the infection and drain the fluid in the middle ear. On his left side, however, a cholesteatoma, or abnormal skin growth, has formed. Kosal is scheduled to undergo another procedure on January 5. Our medical partner, CSC, is requesting $842 to pay for the required mastoidectomy surgery to remove the chloesteatoma. Kosal hopes to continue school without any hearing problems. He says, "I hope that I can hear clearly because I want to become a teacher."

Seyha is fifteen years old and in the eighth grade. He has two sisters and one brother. He likes to watch TV and play with other children. Seyha has a dermoid cyst, a noncancerous lump, in his left eyebrow. For this reason, he experiences headaches, pain, and discomfort. When Seyha's parents learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), the family traveled for six hours to seek treatment. On November 29, surgeons at CSC removed the cyst. After recovery, Seyha will no longer feel pain. Now, his family needs help to fund this $224 procedure. Seyha shares, "I hope to have a normal face and no headaches."

Songra is a 27-year-old food seller who has five sisters. In her free time, she likes to watch Thai movies on TV and chat with her relatives and friends. Songra was born with multiple joint abnormalities, and her knee is severely deformed. She has already undergone several surgeries with our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), including surgery to realign her left leg and a cyst removal from her right thigh. Songra visited CSC again because she was experiencing pain in her hip and right knee. She had difficulty walking on her own. On October 24, Songra underwent orthopedic surgery. Surgeons realigned her bones, allowing her to walk normally and relieving her of pain. For $411, we can fund this important procedure. Songra says, "I hope that I can walk better than before."

Jan is an 18 month old baby boy from the Philippines. Jan loves to draw. His parents have 7 other kids as well. The family lives in a house by the road made of bamboo. They don't have electricity and they get water from a water pump. Jan's father is a carpenter. Jan has severe acute malnutrition, which is associated with nearly half of all deaths in young children. In the remote communities and urban slums of the Philippines, lack of clean water and clean environments add risk to potentially fatal childhood diseases. With $268, ICM’s Home-Based Feeding program will provide Jan with nutrient enriched food packs to ensure he can regain normal weight, and achieve optimum physical and mental development. Staff and community volunteers will make weekly visits to monitor his progress. To sustain his health in the long term, ICM's professional staff will educate his mother, guardian or other family members about proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene and organic vegetable gardening. Jan's mother shares, "I hope my son will finish his studies and find a good job someday."

Six-month-old Cristhofer is the youngest of two children. He lives with his family in a one-room cinderblock house in Guatemala. His mother is raising him alone, and works cooking, cleaning, and taking care of him and his siblings, as well as washing neighbors’ clothes to earn a little money. Although his mom wants the best for him, she does not have the resources to feed him even one vegetable, piece of fruit, or egg—the minimum that he needs to be able to overcome malnutrition. When he was born, Cristhofer had to spend the first weeks of his life hospitalized for pneumonia. Since then, he has not been able to catch up to a normal weight. His mother says that he is almost always sick and never has an appetite—that is because he hasn’t had a healthy diet filled with protein, calories, and nutrients. If he does not receive treatment, Cristhofer could face the consequences of malnutrition for the rest of his life—he could have a low IQ, trouble focusing in school, and a greater risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension as an adult. All these consequences make it less likely he will have a well-paying job as an adult, meaning the cycle of poverty and malnutrition would continue if he decides to have kids. Growth monitoring, micronutrient and food supplementation, and deworming medication will help Cristhofer recover from malnutrition. He will gain weight and grow taller to catch up with other children his age. His immune system will grow stronger with the increased caloric intake. This will further increase his appetite and help him use the extra calories to gain motor skills and learn new words instead of those calories being wasted on getting over frequent illnesses. His mother will receive the support she need to feel empowered to give Cristhofer the diet he needs to grow and develop healthily, even with limited resources. Intervention now will give Cristhofer the chance to live a healthy and productive life and escape the cycle of malnutrition and poverty that made him sick in the first place.

Yogadsony is a 15-month-old baby boy from Tanzania. Our medical partner, 
African Mission Healthcare Foundation
 (AMHF) says, “Yogadsony likes to play with cars and balls and is the only child to his mother who is a single parent.” Yogadsony has clubfoot which causes his feet to turn inward and his arches to be very high. AMHF says, “Yogadsony has delayed to walk, and when he does start to walk, he will use the lateral aspect of his feet for walking, which will affect his gait.” If left untreated, clubfoot can lead to wounds and skeletal problems like arthritis. AMHF reports, “Yogadsony started clubfoot treatment when he was two days old but when it reached a point where a small surgery was needed, his mother couldn’t afford the cost. So Yogadsony was given foot abduction braces which he only wore for a month.” Yogadsony's feet relapsed and his mother is unable to cover the cost of another treatment. Yogadsony needs surgery to realign his foot and ankle joint. This procedure costs $1,160 and will pay for realignment, casting, and rehabilitation in the hospital to ensure a healthy recovery for Yogadsony. Yogadsony’s mother says, “All I wish is my baby to have straight feet so that he can walk properly when he grows up, walk to school, and just be independent.”

Meet Ezekiel, a 31-year-old man from Kenya with a wife and three young children. Ezekiel and his family live on ancestral land where they plant tea. Ezekiel has a brain tumor and is a patient with our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “Ezekiel began experiencing severe headaches in January this year. The headaches would persist for about a month and then go away for another month before he would have another severe headache," AMHF explains. "After a few months, Ezekiel started experiencing shaking in his right hand and losing his sight gradually. Currently Ezekiel is not able to hold anything steady with his right hand and can only make out shapes but has no ability to identify people or things. This has forced him to stop working and he has to be constantly accompanied by a family member wherever he goes.” They continue, “if not treated, the tumor could cause brain damage and total blindness. The pressure on Ezekiel’s brain may also result in death.” For $1,205, we can fund a surgery called a craniotomy, which will temporarily remove a bone flap from the skull in order to access the brain. This will allow a surgeon to find the brain tumor and remove as much of it as possible. Ezekiel's friends have kindly come together and agreed to fund $300 of the cost of treatment. “We expect that after the treatment and recovery, Ezekiel will be able to see again and the shaking will stop so he can get back to work,” says AMHF. In Ezekiel's words, “I can no longer see. My life has changed drastically over the last couple of months. I thank God that my condition can be treated and I can go back to work to support my family.”

“Eric is shy,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “He likes to play with mud - building some houses and shapes of people and other things.” This is Eric, an adorable, three-year-old boy from Tanzania. “Eric is the only child to his mother, who is a single parent. She loves her son very much and works very hard to take good care of him,” continues AMHF. “She sells some vegetables and fruits at an open market in their village. The little that she earns is not enough to cover the cost of operation which her son needs.” Eric has bilateral genu valgus, a condition in which the knees angle inward and touch one another when the legs are straightened. “Eric is unable to walk without knocking his knees. It is difficult for him to run or walk fast and compete with other children when playing,” reports AMHF. “If not treated, Eric’s gait will continue to be affected and chances of developing osteoarthritis at an early age will increase.” Eric’s mother remarks, “I am worried that my son may fail to walk later on if the condition keeps getting worse.” With $940 in funding, Eric will undergo a combination of casting and surgery that will realign his knee joint and thighbone, straightening his legs. This cost includes the procedure, hospital stay, cast change, medication, labs, outpatient physiotherapy, and a stay at the Plaster House (a recovery center for kids). “Eric’s gait will improve, he will be able to walk without knocking his knees, and chances of developing osteoarthritis will also decrease,” explains AMHF. “I dream of seeing him as a successful, influential young man in the future,” Eric's mother shares. “I want him to live a better life than mine.”