Emilia M Norlin
Emilia's Story

Emilia joined Watsi on December 1st, 2015. 43 other people also joined Watsi on that day! Emilia's most recent donation supported Aye Aye, a child from Thailand, to fund corrective surgery.

Impact

Emilia has funded healthcare for 15 patients in 8 countries.

Patients funded by Emilia

“We hope that our son can study and one day become a teacher,” shares the mother of 6-month-old Kevin. Kevin lives with his older brother and parents in a one-room cinderblock house in Guatemala. His mother works at home, cooking, cleaning, and taking care of Kevin and his brother. His father works as an assistant bricklayer, building houses and churches in nearby communities. Although Kevin’s parents want the best for their son, they do not have the resources to feed him even one vegetable, piece of fruit, or egg—the minimum that he needs to be able to overcome malnutrition. Kevin's mother noticed that her son is not growing well and is underweight, but did not realize that she was supposed to start feeding her son complementary foods. Subsequently, his current diet lacks protein, calories, and nutrients. If he does not receive treatment, Kevin could face the consequences of malnutrition for the rest of his life—he could have a low IQ, trouble focusing in school, and a greater risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension as an adult. All these consequences make it less likely he will have a well-paying job as an adult, meaning the cycle of poverty and malnutrition would continue if he decides to have kids. Growth monitoring, micronutrient and food supplementation, and deworming medication will help Kevin recover from malnutrition. He will gain weight and grow taller to catch up with other children his age. His immune system will grow stronger with the increased caloric intake. This will further increase his appetite and help him use the extra calories to gain motor skills and learn new words instead of those calories being wasted on getting over frequent illnesses. In addition to Kevin's treatment, his mother will receive the support she need to feel empowered to give Kevin the diet he needs to grow and develop healthily, even with limited resources. Intervention now will give Kevin the chance to live a healthy and productive life and escape the cycle of malnutrition and poverty that made him sick in the first place.

$512raised
Fully funded

Rusen, a 19-month-old baby boy from Kenya, is the last-born in a family of five children. At the age of three months his head began increasing in size, and at six months his mother noticed that, unlike other children, Rusen could not do things such as sit down or hold his head up. Rusen was diagnosed with hydrocephalus - a condition involving the buildup of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain cavities - which was delaying his development. Rusen's head has been progressively increasing in size and he seems very irritable. A shunt insertion is required to treat Rusen's condition, so his parents were advised to seek specialized treatment. Unfortunately, due to a lack of finances, his parents opted not to seek out further treatment. Rusen’s parents are subsistence farmers and supplement their farming income with any casual work that they can get. The family lives in a single-room house and Rusen’s siblings are all in school and doing well. However, the family does not have any extra funds to spend on the medical attention that Rusen needs. Fortunately, the Bethany Kids mobile clinic outreach team spotted the family and urged them to come for treatment, which they did. But Rusen’s parents were only able to raise money for the bus ticket to get them to Bethany Kids, and therefore cannot raise the money required for the actual surgical care. With $615, Rusen's shunt insertion will be possible. During the operation, the shunt will be inserted into Rusen's head in order to divert excess fluid into other areas of his body. In doing so, Rusen's head will return to a normal size and he will no longer be at risk for the serious health complications, such as brain damage, associated with hydrocephalus. “We had given up all hope until we met with a team from Bethany Kids. We are more than happy to know that there are hopes for Rusen’s treatment,” shares Rusen’s mother.

$615raised
Fully funded

Carmen was born on July 9, 2016 in Guatemala. Unfortunately, her mother had complications with the placenta, and she lost so much blood that she passed away shortly after giving birth. Since she was giving birth at home in a mountainous and incredibly rural area, no medical help was available to her until she had already passed. After asking around the community to see if there were other mothers that could breast milk and coming up short, Carmen's father contacted our staff to see if there was support he could receive for his daughter. Carmen is the youngest of 10 children. They live in a one-room home made of cinderblocks with a tin roof. Her father works as a day laborer, making a few dollars per day that he uses to buy food for his children. Unfortunately, formula costs more than his salary, making it impossible for him to afford this life-saving treatment for his daughter. Although Carmen's case is serious and life-threatening, treatment is simple. For $1,016, we can provide Carmen with formula that will give her all the protein, calories, and nutrients she needs to be healthy and strong. Carmen's father and her other caregivers will also receive nutritional education to prevent future malnutrition. With our help, Carmen's father will no longer have to live with the stress of not being able to feed his daughter on top of grieving the loss of his wife. "My hope is that my daughter grows healthy and active, I am appreciative for the support that she will get," Carmen's father said.

$1,016raised
Fully funded