"I dream that my little girl will one day be a great teacher," shares the mother of 11-month-old Maritza. Maritza is currently living with malnutrition. She is dangerously underweight because her parents cannot afford to give her the protein, calories, and nutrients that she needs to be healthy. She gets sick often because her immune system does not have the fuel it needs to fight off germs, making her body use all her energy on getting over sicknesses rather than growing and developing. If she does not receive treatment now, Maritza could face long-term consequences including mental deficiencies, chronic diseases, and lower earning potential as an adult. Maritza is the only child to two loving parents. She lives with them in a cinderblock house with a tin roof in a rural mountainous community in Guatemala. Her father works in a small store, selling snacks, and her mother works at home taking care of Maritza, cooking, and cleaning. Although they both work hard and want the best for their daughter, they cannot afford to give the diet she needs to overcome malnutrition. $512 of growth monitoring, micronutrient and food supplementation, and deworming medication will help Maritza recover from malnutrition. The support provided from the doctors at our medical partner, Wuqu' Kawoq, will save her life and put her on track to live a better life in the future. She will gain weight and grow taller to catch up with other children her age. Her immune system will grow stronger with increased caloric intake, preventing her from having any more life-threatening situations with diarrhea, fevers, and coughs. This will further increase her appetite and help her use the extra calories to develop mentally instead of those calories being wasted on getting over frequent illnesses. Her parents will receive the support they need to feel empowered to give Maritza the diet she needs to grow and develop healthily. Intervention now will prevent the future devastating effects of malnutrition, and give Maritza the chance to live a healthy and productive life, finish school, get a good job, and escape the cycle of malnutrition and poverty that made her sick in the first place.

Clari is a 32-year-old mother of two from a remote village in the jungles of Panama. She lives with her family in a humble wooden hut on the top of a tall, steep hill, spending her days running the family cacao farm, and raising her two children. Clari lives with failure of the two mitral valves in her heart. She is now experiencing heart failure from rheumatic fever and doctors have been managing her condition for almost four years. "Right now she sleeps poorly, is always out of breath, and has chest pain very frequently. Also her legs and stomach often swell up with fluid," explains our medical partner, Floating Doctors (FD). "She lives under the ongoing worry that she will have a major heart failure and die in her remote mountain community." This does not stop Clari from leaving her home each day to sell cacao to support her family. “She has shown incredible courage and responsibility,” FD says. For $1493, we can fund a mitral valve repair for Clari. This life-changing and life-saving operation will repair both of Clari’s mitral valves, potentially eliminating the need for medication and drastically increasing the quality of her life. While FD will cover the cost of food and travel to a hospital capable of carrying out this operation, we will cover the cost of her actual surgery, including the echocardiogram and heart bypass needed for a successful surgery. After this operation, Clari will be able to breathe easily again. She dreams of having another baby, watching her children grow up and a new chance at life without the burdens of her condition.

“Naw Moe is a very shy yet witty thirteen-year-old girl,” says our medical partner, Burma Border Projects (BBP). Naw Moe lives in Burma with her parents and one of her four older siblings. “Naw Moe's parents both work as farmers, planting and cultivating a variety of plants and then selling the partially grown plants," says BBP. When Naw Moe was nine-years-old, “she began to experience numbness and pain in her left side, knee aches, loss of appetite, sleeplessness, and difficulty urinating,” BBP tells us. Naw Moe was subsequently diagnosed with kidney stones. Because of her condition, “Naw Moe currently does not go to school,” and “no longer wishes to go out to play with her friends, but stay home and keep to herself," BBP continues. Surgery to remove the kidney stones will cost $1500, and is expected to eliminate all symptoms. Treatment “will allow her to live a normal live and she can return to her normal happy self," says BBP. Naw Moe and her family are hopeful for the treatment outcome. “Her mother hopes her to be happy and healthy. She hopes her daughter will be able to go back to the days when Naw Moe would be able to cook for her mom when she was too busy to, and back on track to achieving her dreams,” BBP says. “Naw Moe cheerfully tells us her aspirations are to become a nun and teach ninth and tenth grades in Burma for the rest of her life.”

Say hello to Simon, a six-week-old baby boy from Kenya. Simon is cared for by his loving mother, who is in her fourth year of high school and hoping to finish her studies at the end of the year. As a young, single mother, she depends on her parents for support. Simon was born with spina bifida, an open mass on his back. His mother is distraught because she has no way of paying for his treatment. If not treated, Simon can develop a tethered cord, which will cause kyphosis or scholiosis. “I have nowhere else to seek help. I pray and hope that his surgery will go on well and that we’ll find support for the treatment,” says Simon’s mother. Let’s raise $980 so Simon can receive a spina bifida closure. “The surgery will help reduce the chance of infection as well as prevent any possibility of Simon developing tethered cord,” our medical partners write. Let’s get Simon the help he needs to live a healthy life!

Meet Mutavanya! Mutavanya is a three-month-old baby from Kenya who lives in a family of two children. Mutavanya's mother and his mother's parents support Mutavanya and his sibling through their harvests on a small piece of land. Mutavanya was born with hydrocephalus, which causes an excess of fluid in the brain. He is starting to lose his vision quickly and his head is expanding. If Mutavanya does not receive surgery soon, he may lose his eyesight forever. Mutavanya's mother says, "I have no job and still live with my parents. I love my children and I wish I could give them the best but I cannot even ensure that my son gets the medical support he needs. This breaks my heart." For $980, we can fund Mutavanya's shunt incision surgery that will drain the excess fluid from his brain and make sure he stays healthy. Let's help Mutavanya get healthy!

Meet Laura, a one-year-old living in Guatemala! Laura has a classic case of the "dwindles" - a common representation of chronic malnutrition in Guatemala. Laura is fighting what healthcare professionals call, "failure to thrive." Her development is slowing. She has less energy and appetite then other kids her age, and each month her growth slows. If this trajectory is not reversed, it will permanently limit her potential and prevent her from living a healthy life. Laura's family is frustrated and concerned about her. But they lack the resources to give her the medical care and nutritional support she needs. This is where we come in! For $525, Laura can receive intensive nutritional therapy that will result in improved growth, energy, appetite, and brain development. Let's help Laura get healthy!

Shanta is a bright young woman, 17 years of age, from Nepal. Shanta is currently studying in the ninth grade and aspiring to take her School Leaving Certificate exams within the next year. Recently, while collecting firewood for her mother, Shanta fell down from a tree and fractured her hip. She hasn't been able to walk since the accident, making it difficult to continue her studies. For $1,240, our medical partners can treat Shanta's fracture and get her back on her feet! Not only do Shanta’s father and brother both work in India in order to support their family, Shanta also helps by working in the field with her mother and sister. Let’s help to ensure Shanta has a bright and successful future by raising the money needed for her treatment!

Meet Anita, a 13-year-old girl from Nepal who wants to be a teacher one day. For the past two years, Anita has experienced severe headaches, earaches, and discharge due to tympanic membrane perforation. Untreated, this condition can lead to permanent hearing loss. Anita's family cannot afford the $1,105 surgery. Her father works in India to support her, her two siblings, and her mother, but it's not enough. Anita's favorite subject in school is health, and that's exactly what we invest in when we support her. Let's help Anita so she can continue to learn and teach her community as she grows up.

Meet Khu Nay, an 11-year-old boy who lives with his grandmother and two sisters in Burma. A few years ago, his parents left to work in Thailand, where they now earn minimal wages and send whatever they can home. However, it is not enough and Khu Nay’s grandmother must work as well in order to compensate for basic living expenses. Last July, Khu Nay was playing in the rain when he slipped, fell, and broke his femur (thigh bone). He was initially brought to a traditional healer, whose treatment did not take. He remained at home until September, when two cysts appeared and he began experiencing fevers. Khu Nay then traveled to Thailand to receive further treatment. X-rays revealed his left femur had a displaced fracture and he has been an inpatient ever since, waiting for the treatment he needs to live a normal life. Khu Nay is nervous about his future and only wishes to be a normal kid who can walk without assistance and go to school. For $1,500, he can receive the needed bone graft to heal his femur. Let's work together and raise the funds Khu Nay needs to secure a healthy future and get him walking again.

Stephanie is a smart 12-year-old from Kenya who loves to write and wants to be an author when she grows up. Several years ago, Stephanie's parents passed away, leaving her and her two siblings to live with their aunt and uncle in Kenya. Because of this, family has been very important to Stephanie and she would like to be able to have a family of her own someday. Stephanie was born with internal female reproductive organs and ambiguous genitalia. In order for Stephanie to be able to conceive when she is of childbearing age, she will require a genital operation so that she can give birth. Stephanie's family is very supportive of her health needs and has raised what money they can for her medical care but they cannot afford the cost of this surgery. For $1500, Stephanie will receive a vaginoplasty. This operation will allow Stephanie to feel comfortable with herself and pursue her dreams of becoming an author and, someday, a mother.

At seven years old, Jane is absolutely adorable. Despite the bright smile shining out from under her hat, that hat is hiding a serious medical issue. When Jane was just eight months old, she fell into an open fire and sustained serious burns on her scalp. For years, Jane has covered her head to conceal her still-painful and damaged skin. Jane's mother says that all she wants is for her daughter to be healthy again. Jane needs a $1,500 surgery to treat infection-prone areas on her skin and reconstruct her burned scalp. We can help Jane get the medical care she needs to live the happy, carefree life every seven-year-old deserves.

Evelyn is pregnant with her second child and is due in June! Evelyn is a 20 year-old farmer who sells maize, beans and sugar cane. Working in the field and completing daily chores is taxing on her body. Many women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth. Access to care before and during birth can alleviate some of these risks and avoid others completely. Lwala Community Alliance wants Evelyn and her baby to receive all the care they need. For $215, Evelyn will receive pre-natal care, a hospital delivery and a checkup after birth. When asked what her hopes for the future was, Evelyn said, “I want the delivery to go smoothly and that my children can go to school and maybe even complete university.” Spoken like a true Mom.