Meet Fostina! She is a sweet, ten-year-old girl from Zambia who “was nothing but healthy and brought only joy to her family” for the first six of years of her life, according to our medical partner CURE International. Then, at age six, her family began to notice a slight bow in her legs, but doctors had high hopes she would outgrow the condition. The opposite happened. Now at ten years of age, her legs are severely bowed out and far beyond the ability of her local doctor to correct. "Fostina has trouble walking," her doctors say, "which is extremely painful, awkward, and embarrassing. This also causes stress on other joints in her ankles and hips and she has experienced social difficulties due to her very noticeable disability, because her culture largely believes in curses.” Thankfully, Fostina was referred to our partner, CURE International. Fostina has already had one successful surgery, thanks to Watsi donors. She needs our help to fund her final operation. For $1000, Fostima will receive a proximal tibial osteotomy, which will correctly realign her legs. She is expected to recover fully; she will walk out pain-free and with a new source of confidence.

Meet 12-year-old Felista. She is studying in primary school but her schooling has often been interrupted and progress has been difficult because Felista has hydrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is a condition that causes enlarged head size, intra cranial pressure, and "sun-setting" eyes. To escape brain damage, blindness, or even premature death, Felista needs surgery, but her parents are unable to raise the funds. The fourth born in a family of six children, Felista lives in Kenya with her parents and siblings. Felista’s father is a hawker in a nearby trading center, while her mother does small scale farming on their parent’s small land, both jobs bring in very little income. “It has been so difficult for me as a mother to bring up Felista and seeing her condition progress over time. I pray she gets treatment soon and that she lives a healthier life,” says Felista’s mother. For $980, we can give Felista a shunt incision. Watsi hospital partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation says, "we expect that the surgery will reduce the intra cranial pressure in Felista’s head and she will not suffer brain damage nor become blind.” Let’s help Felista grow up healthy!