55-year-old Wanja is a working single mother of two living in Kenya. "I am working hard so that I can eventually have my own land and build a house that my children can call their home," says Wanja, who works as a casual laborer at a local university. Wanja has a painful lump in her breast and was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. Wanja needs surgery and potentially chemotherapy to treat her condition. However, she can't afford the cost with one child still in high school and the other finishing college. "If the surgery is not done, the cancer is likely to spread to Wanja's vital organs which will lead to death," medical partner Africa Mission Healthcare Foundation explains. Her doctors are confident in Wanja's recovery though, saying "we expect that after the surgery and perhaps a few sessions of chemotherapy, Wanja will be cancer free and she can continue working hard so that she can one day own her own home."

Jonathan is an adventurous four-year-old who loves to play with his pre-school classmates and does his best to keep up with them when they run around at school. Jonathan was born with right genu valgus which causes his right leg to knock into his left leg whenever he walks or runs. Jonathan’s mother is raising her son on her own. She spends her days working as a hairdresser and earns extra money selling samosas at a local market, but still does not have enough money to pay for Jonathan’s medical care. She says, “I love my son and want the best for him. I wish to see him able to walk properly and continue to grow well like other children.” For $555, Jonathan will receive distal femoral osteotomy. This operation will correct the malformation in his leg and allow him to do all of the things he loves, like playing with his classmates and running around at school, without the difficulty and pain he has had in the past!

Zin Oo is just six-years-old and has already experienced a great deal. Zin Oo is being raised by his single mother, who works as a day labor in Burma’s northeastern Shan State. In 2013 Zin Oo’s family was forced to flee from their home as a result of anti-Muslim violence in their region. They lived in an IDP camp until the situation settled. The family has since moved back to the home which Zin Oo shares with his mother, aunt, uncle, grandfather, and three cousins. When Zin Oo was two-years-old he broke his left leg. Since then, two flawed surgeries have failed to properly heal him and as a result, his left leg is shorter than the right. Due to his condition, Zin Oo cannot walk on his own, and he hasn’t started school. His mother must carry Zin Oo everywhere she goes, including to work, making normal life very difficult for both of them. His mother cannot afford another corrective surgery. Zin Oo needs a comprehensive and effective surgery to once and for all properly repair the damage done to his leg. $1500 is all Zin Oo needs for this vital surgery that would enable him to walk on his own and attend school, thereby allowing his mother to continue her work and be relived of worry about Zin Oo’s health. Let’s help Zin Oo get better so he can get out and join his peers in school and in play!