“My wish is to go back to school when my bones are strong,” shares 13-year-old Ernest from Tanzania. “I will study hard to become a doctor so that I can help others who are suffering from various illnesses.” Ernest has bilateral genu valgus, a bone deformity that causes his legs to bend and prevents him from walking. “Ernest is the third-born in a family of eight children,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “Ernest is very polite and friendly. He was born perfectly fine and had normal growth until he was eight years old. His bones slowly started to bend and became very weak to the extent that Ernest could no longer walk. He had to stop going to school and could not play soccer or run around with other children as he used to.” “Ernest’s parents are small-scale farmers– relying on growing and selling maize and beans,” AMHF continues. “Apart from farming, Ernest’s mother also buys and sells charcoal. Their income is still not enough to cover the cost of their everyday expenses as well as pay the cost of corrective surgery which Ernest needs.” Today, his doctors write, "Ernest is unable to stand or walk due to the deformity of his limbs." But with $940, they can perform surgery to improve his mobility and enable him to pursue his dreams!

“Sovan lives alone and has four children and four grandchildren,” our partners tell is at the Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC) in Cambodia. Meet Sovan, a 54-year-old mother and grandmother who injured her spine in a moto accident. She is unable walk normally, and she experiences lower back pain caused by spondylolisthesis, which is a forward displacement of one of her vertebra. She traveled six hours seeking medical attention from CSC because she cannot afford treatment and there is nowhere else that she can go for help. For $405, Sovan will receive surgery that will remove her back pain and allow her to walk normally.

"Tatia is a quiet, sweet little girl," AMHF tells us about this five-year-old girl from Tanzania. "She had just started kindergarten when she had the fire accident and ever since the accident she hasn’t returned to school. Tatia enjoys skipping rope and playing hide and seek." Clinicians have recommended a skin graft and contracture release so that Tatia can use her arm and hand again after serious burns. The cost of care will come to $870. "Her parents are small scale farmers – they have a garden of vegetables and they also grow sweet potatoes," AMHF writes. "With three children to look after, it has been difficult to come up with enough cash to cover the cost of Tatia’s surgery as well as other basic needs." “We just hope that Tatia will get well and be able to use her arm again," Tatia's parents say. "Otherwise, to some extent she will become dependent on other people." Willing clinicians. Supportive and loving parents. All we need to do to get Tatia back up and running is fund her care. What are we waiting for?