Shadrack is a five-month-old boy from Kenya. He was born with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain. Shadrack is the youngest in a family of two children. When he was two months old, his mother noticed that his head was rapidly increasing in size. She notified a medic during a pediatric checkup, and a scan revealed the excess fluid in his head. They were referred to our medical partner's hospital, Bethany Kids Kijabe Hospital, for specialized treatment. On December 8, Shadrack underwent a shunt insertion, during which doctors inserted a device to drain the fluid from his brain. Shadrack lives with his older brother and parents in a one-room rental house. His mother is a housewife, while his father is a fisherman. They cannot afford to pay for healthcare. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $685 to fund this procedure. Shadrack's mother is relieved that her son is receiving care. "We love him so much, and it hurts so much to see him cry in anguish," she says.

Sheen, a five-year-old girl, lives with her parents and two siblings in a rental house. Her father is a furniture maker, but his income is unstable. Sheen has been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. She began $268 malnutrition treatment on October 20. She is being treated by International Care Ministries (ICM), a Watsi medical partner. One out of five children under five in ICM communities is either severely or moderately acutely malnourished. Worldwide, poor nutrition is associated with nearly half of all deaths in young children. In remote communities and urban slums of the Philippines, the lack of clean water and unclean environments add risk to potentially fatal childhood diseases. ICM’s Home-Based Feeding program provides nutrient-enriched food packs to ensure malnourished children get additional food to regain normal weight and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child as malnourished, staff and community volunteers make weekly visits to monitor this child’s progress. To help sustain the health of the child, ICM's professional staff educate the mother, guardian, or other family members about proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene, and organic vegetable gardening. Sheen's mother hopes that she will finish her studies someday