Meet Kennedy, a smiling five-year-old boy from Kenya. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), shares, “Kennedy is the last-born in a family of two children, and has been experiencing headaches and persistent vomiting.” Kennedy has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition where cerebrospinal fluid accumulates within the brain, causing increased intracranial pressure. If Kennedy goes untreated, this increased pressure could result in permanent brain damage or even death. Kennedy lives with his parents and elder sister – a special needs child who also requires medical attention. According to AMHF, “Kennedy’s father serves as a church cleaner earning a meager monthly income of $45. Kennedy's mother on the other hand hawks porridge in the streets.” Their combined income is not sufficient to sustain the family, especially since both children are in need of care. In addition, as a result of his symptoms and delayed development, Kennedy could not be enrolled in school. For that reason, and in hope of her son securing a better future, Kennedy’s mother looks forward to the treatment: “It has been trying watching my children grow up like this. I really hope Ken can get treated,” she says. For $980, we can fund Kennedy’s treatment. He will receive a shunt to drain the cerebrospinal from the brain into another part of the body where the fluid can be absorbed. AMHF states, “Kennedy's surgery will help reduce the intracranial pressure thus stopping the headaches and vomiting. Kennedy will also be enrolled in a learning institution and live normally among his peers once he starts developing normally.” Let’s help Kennedy receive the treatment he needs to live a pain-free childhood!

“Hassan has been experiencing on and off scrotal swelling,” says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “He has recently started to cry when urinating.” Four-month-old Hassan lives with his mother and grandmother in Tanzania. He has a hernia, a condition in which pressure pushes part of his intestines through an opening, or weak spot, between his abdomen and scrotum. “If not treated,” says AMHF, “it may cause intestinal obstruction and endanger Hassan’s life.” Hassan’s mother works on a farm to earn money to take of her son, but she does not earn enough to pay for the surgery that Hassan needs. $610 will pay for surgery in which doctors suture the herniated tissue back in place. Funding for Hassan’s treatment also includes three days of post-operative hospital care and a one-week stay at The Plaster House, a home where children from all over Tanzania can recover after surgery. “I hope my son will get better. I wish to see him grow up like other children, go to school and live an independent life when he grows up,” says Hassan’s mother.

Huzefa is a 2-year-old boy with hip dysplasia, a common condition that causes misalignment of the hip joint. Because of the condition, Huzefa has difficulty walking. Without treatment, his doctors say it will continue to prevent him from walking and most likely begin to cause him pain. Fortunately, Huzefa can undergo surgery to realign his hip joint. His doctors are confident that with surgery, he will be able to walk normally. Huzefa comes from a loving family in Ethiopia. His parents are worried that he will have trouble walking for the rest of his life. They are hopeful that with treatment, their son can have a normal, healthy life.