Kelli's Story

Kelli joined Watsi on June 14th, 2013. Nine years ago, Kelli joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Kelli's most recent donation traveled 8,700 miles to support Sephania, a 19-month-old Maasai baby from Tanzania, to fund clubfoot surgery on both his feet.

Impact

Kelli has funded healthcare for 145 patients in 16 countries.

patients you have funded

Sephania is a baby from Simanjiro, Arusha in Tanzania. He lives among the Maasai people. He comes from a large family of six siblings, raised by a single mother. His father died shortly after he was born, and his mother depends on her brothers, who are cattle breeders. They help provide basic needs for the family since his mother does not work and has no means to earn a living. Sephania was born with both his legs twisted inward and downward. His mother was informed that there was treatment for the condition. She could not afford transport money at the time and had to wait for almost 2 years before she was able to collect enough money to travel to a medical center. She arrived at our center with an escort, who helped her translate as she only speaks Maasai. After a brief assessment with our team, we set up a treatment plan for Sephania, starting with a series of castings. Sephania has clubfoot on both feet. Clubfoot is a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and even wearing shoes. Fortunately, Sephania traveled to visit our medical partner's care center, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre. There, surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on May 12th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $935 to fund Sephania's clubfoot repair. After treatment, he will be able to walk easily. Sephania’s mother says, "It has taken a while to be able to come for treatment. I hope my son will get treatment that will help with his foot’s condition."

$240raised
$695to go

Benedister is a 45-year-old single mother and small-scale farmer from Kenya. She plants maize and millet for her family's consumption and for sale. Benedister has seven children between 11 and 23 years old. When she is done with her farm work, Benedister always looks for casual jobs in order to earn extra wages. She is very hardworking, as she is her family’s sole breadwinner. One day, while walking around her compound, Benedister fell and injured her right lower limb. She was unable to walk, so she was carried by some of her relatives to the hospital. Her pain was so intense that she was given some pain medication, then sent for an x-ray. The x-ray revealed that she had a bimalleolar fracture with a joint dislocation, which means that in addition to a bone being broken, the ligaments on the inside of her ankle were injured as well. She was treated, and then her ankle was immobilized with a bulky jones splint. She is not able to walk on her own and is in a lot of pain. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On February 7th, Benedister will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. Afterward, she will be able to walk easily again. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,145 to fund this procedure. Benedister says, “It’s really sad that I cannot walk without support. My children look up to me for all their needs and here I am now with a broken leg and cannot offer any help to them. Please help me get my bones fixed so that I will be able to work and live normally as before.”

$458raised
$687to go