Mary is a 12-year-old girl from Tanzania who is the second born out of seven children. She dreams of working as a nurse in her district’s hospital. Mary used to attend primary school, but had to stop in her fourth year. The long walk to school is too difficult for Mary to manage because she has knocked knees, which causes her a lot of pain when she walks and puts her at risk for developing early arthritis. Even though she can’t go to school, Mary works hard and helps her widowed mother with chores around the house. Her mother grows vegetables, beans and maize to sell, but barely earns enough to cover the family’s expenses. Mary’s uncle has been working to find a way for Mary to get surgery so she can go back to school. “I miss going to school and playing with other students. I hope I can be treated so that I can go back to school and also be able to help my mother fetch some water, firewood and do other things,” says Mary. For $940, we can fund Mary's corrective surgery to fix her knocked knees. This will allow her to walk without pain and get back to school, so she can achieve her dream of becoming a nurse!

Bahati is in preschool. He enjoys drawing and coloring pictures. His father works at a timber company and his mother sells produce from her small vegetable garden. Bahati likes to play with the other children in school, but experiences pain in his leg and sometimes cannot run. Our medical partner, the African Mission Healthcare Foundation, has diagnosed him with chronic osteomyelitis of the right tibia, which means that his right shin bone is infected. Bahati's doctors report, "he has pus discharging sinuses below his right knee. He sometimes walks with difficulty. Bahati is at risk of pathological fracture of the tibia, if not treated." His mother tells us, “I am very afraid that if Bahati doesn't receive treatment soon, my son will end up losing his leg. He is so full of life and has opportunities for a better future; we wouldn’t like to see Bahati held back in life because of his leg.” The surgery to remove the infected bone portions, plus antibiotics, costs $1000. Bahati’s doctors add, "the treatment will control infection of the tibia, allow healing of the bone and stop [the] pus drenching sinus. Bahati will be able to concentrate on his studies; play and have normal growth."