Phue is a one-year-old girl who lives in Thailand. Her parents are originally from Burma. In 2013, the whole family moved to Thailand because her parents needed better jobs to pay for their children's school fees. Recently, Phue's neck became stiff, and she couldn't turn her head. She had to turn her whole body to look around. When her mother pinched the left side of her torso, she did not react. She was also experiencing fever, coughing, and difficulty sleeping. Phue's mother took her to our medical partner's care center, where Phue received antibiotics. On January 18, Phue will undergo a CT scan. This procedure will allow her doctors to make a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan. Our medical partner is requesting $414 to cover the expenses of the test. “Even though we do not have enough money, our priority now is to take care of her health problem," says Phue's mother. "We don’t want her to become disabled. We are so worried about her, but we cannot do anything by ourselves as we do not have money.”

Two-month-old Noemi is acutely malnourished. She lives with her mother in Guatemala, and her mother is currently unable to produce breastmilk. "Her mother cannot afford formula, so she has been giving her daughter water with sugar or corn mush when she is hungry," explains our medical partner, Wuqu' Kawoq (WK). "Unfortunately, this has given Noemi stomach problems, put her at increased of diarrhea, and has increased her risk of seizure due to the electrolyte imbalance that consuming non-breastmilk liquids causes in small infants." Noemi is dangerously underweight for her age. Her mother visited different local healers for herbal remedies to increase her milk production, but nothing worked. "Although she wants to help her daughter, she lacks the money to buy her daughter the formula she needs," says WK. With $1016, Noemi will receive the formula she needs. "This will save Noemi's life, giving her the calories, nutrients, and protein she needs to be a healthy baby," WK explains. "Her immune system will grow stronger with the treatment, and she will no longer be at risk of seizures." This funding will also provide her mother with "motivational nutrition education, giving her the tools she needs to help her daughter overcome her malnutrition and help her prevent future malnutrition and illness." "I hope that my daughter reaches a good weight and height," her mother said.

Kamanyire is a 50-year-old husband and father from Uganda. According to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), he primarily relies on farming to provide for his wife and eight children. About three years ago, Kamanyire began feeling pain in his right groin, or inguinal area due to a hernia. Hernias are external bulges that appear as a result of organs being out of place. Unable to afford treatment at a hospital, Kamanyire initially turned to herbal remedies to help with the pain. Unfortunately, the remedies have not been effective. AMHF informs us, “because of the pain from the hernia, Kamanyire is unable to [work]. Currently, he looks after someone’s cattle and is paid little money for his sustainability.” They add that Kamanyire is at risk for serious complications, such as ‘intestinal obstruction, incarceration and strangulation.” AMHF can relieve Kamanyire of his pain with hernia repair surgery. During surgery, his organs will be placed in their appropriate locations, and his abdominal wall will be repaired, to prevent further hernias. Treatment will cost a total of $220, which includes surgical fees, medication and a two week stay at the hospital. “We expect that after the treatment, Kamanyire will no longer be in pain and the risk of intestinal obstruction, incarceration and strangulation will be eliminated,” states AMHF. “Thank you for providing a treatment program for the poor,” says Kamanyire.

Meet Zakileydie, a nine-year-old girl from Haiti. Zakileydie “is very bright and is in the fourth grade. She loves to sing and dance,” shares our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance (HCA). “Zakileydie was born with a cardiac condition called ventricular septal defect, in which a hole exists between the two lower chambers of her heart. Blood leaks through this hole without first passing through the lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving her sickly and weak,” shares HCA. The healthcare system in Haiti is fragmented with few reliable providers. The goal of our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, is to work with partners to scale up the availability of life-saving cardiac surgery to all Haitian children who need it. For $1,500, we can fund a treatment that will restore normal blood flow to Zakileydie's heart. $5,000 of her treatment is subsidized from from Gift of Life International. The cost of the treatment includes overseas transportation, as this procedure isn't accessible in Haiti. "I am happy that all the doctors and nurses are being so nice to me, and I am excited to get my heart fixed,” she shares.