“I will be happy when I am able to run as fast as my friends,” shares Lujeri. 10-year-old Lujeri lives in Tanzania, where he is the third-born in a family of six children. Lujeri is in the second grade, and his favorite classes are reading, mathematics and Swahili. He also likes to play football with his fellow pupils. When he was six years old, Lujeri’s lower limbs slowly started bowing inwards, forcing him to knock his knees when walking. His condition, known as genu valgum or “knock-knees,” kept getting worse to the point where Lujeri can no longer run fast. He also sometimes feels pain in his knees. Lujeri needs surgery to help him walk properly again and to reduce the risk of developing osteoarthritis at a young age. However, what his parents earn as small-scale farmers and herders is not enough to cover the cost of this surgery on top of daily expenses for their six children. But there is hope for Lujeri. For $940, we can sponsor the operation that will correct both of his knees. This sum will also provide Lujeri with the two weeks of physical therapy and the three-month stay at a recovery center, Plaster House, he will need to recuperate safely. Let’s make Lujeri’s dream of running and playing with his friends into a reality.

Five-year-old Kusemererwa is a shy, nursery school student who lives with his mother, grandmother, and three older siblings in Uganda. When he was two years old, Kusemererwa developed a small swelling in his right scrotum. Within a year, the swelling increased, and he was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a hydrocele. A hydrocele is a sac of watery fluid around one or both testicles that presents as swelling in the scrotum or groin. The fluid comes from the abdomen and travels along the same paths that the testes follow when they descend into the scrotum before or shortly after birth. Hydroceles can occur at any age, and their cause is generally unknown. The doctor who evaluated Kusemererwa told his mother that his condition required surgery, but they should wait until he is at least five years old. Now, the swelling pains Kusemererwa, and he becomes restless. A delay in treatment would prolong his pain and discomfort. Kusemererwa's grandmother brought him to Holy Family Virika Hospital to seek assistance for his surgery after learning about Watsi's program from a friend. Kusemererwa’s mother, who works as a casual laborer at a tea plantation, does not have funds to pay for her son’s surgery. For $215, Kusemererwa will undergo hydrocele repair surgery to reduce his scrotal swelling and relieve his pain. The surgeon will make a small incision in his scrotum to remove the sac of fluid and then use stitches to close the path between the scrotum and abdomen so that no more fluid can accumulate. Funding for Kusemererwa also covers the costs of a two-week hospital stay and medicine to prevent infection. Kusemererwa's mother and grandmother hope to see him happy and healthy after surgery. “Kusemererwa has suffered with pain for a long time," shares his mother. "We will have peace if he gets surgery.”

"Shekina has been very sick since she was born, and I want her to be healthy and happy," says Shekina's mother, "I pray for a good result from this test." Her daughter Shekina, a three-year-old Haitian girl, needs a diagnostic heart catheterization procedure to determine her eligibility for heart surgery. Shekina's mother has stopped working as a market vendor to take care of her. "Shekina was born with a cardiac condition called complete atrioventricular septal defect, in which multiple holes exist between the upper and lower chambers of her heart," explains our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance (HCA). "Blood flows through these holes in her heart without first passing through the lungs to get oxygen, leaving her sickly and short of breath." Due to the severity of Shekina's condition, a surgical solution may not be available. However, the only way to determine this is through imaging done with catheterization. "Since this is not possible in Haiti, arrangements are being made to bring her to Dominican Republic to perform this extremely important test in the hopes that she can have heart surgery later in the year," shares HCA. $1,500 covers the cost of the catheter procedure and travel arrangements such as visas and a place to stay. Following the catheterization test, Shekina's family will know with certainty whether her condition is operable or not. HCA tells us that if operable, plans will then be made to move forward with her surgery as soon as possible.