“Everyday I feel afraid,” Isabel shares. “I want to heal, and to have more time with my family. We just don’t have the financial resources to afford chemotherapy.” 55-year-old Isabel has cervical cancer. She is a mother of three children and lives in a small home in rural Guatemala. “She told our staff that she has never had a steady job,” shares our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK). “Since childhood and adolescence she has worked as a housewife. Her husband is a farmer but he stopped working and supporting her about 10 years ago for undisclosed reasons. Now, she works selling clothing and crafts. Her dream for the future is to have greater success with her business and seek other forms of income for her family. Her favorite activity is attending church with her only brother.” Isabel came to WK after living with uncomfortable symptoms for three years. “She never had the courage or the money to seek care,” WK says. “There is a lot of discrimination against Indigenous people in the public healthcare system.” For $1,430, Isabel will receive chemotherapy to treat her cancer. Not only will she undergo treatment, but she will receive all of WK’s services -- bus transportation from her village to the government hospital, translation while in the hospital, and general case management. “Without assistance, Isabel will be unable to afford the life-saving care she needs,” WK says.

Three-year-old Love Faela lives with her parents, grandparents, and two older siblings in Haiti. She likes wearing frilly dresses and listening to her mother sing. Our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance (HCA), tells us, “Love Faela was born with a congenital heart condition called tetralogy of Fallot.” The condition accounts for one third of all cases of congenital heart disease in patients younger than 15 years old. “[Tetralogy of Fallot] involves several related defects, including a hole between two chambers of the heart and a muscular blockage of one of the heart's valves,” HCA continues. “As a result, Love Faela's heart cannot deliver enough oxygen to her body, and she is sickly and weak. If untreated, the condition would be fatal.” Treatment for Love Faela is surgery to close the hole between the chambers of her heart and open the obstructed heart valve. “Following surgery,” HCA explains, “normal circulation should be restored to Love Faela's heart, and she should be able to lead a normal life.” For $1500, HCA will provide the overseas preparation and transportation required for Love Faela’s treatment. Gift of Life International is donating $5000 to cover the remaining treatment costs. "We are praising God that Love Faela can have surgery for her heart problem," her mother shares.