Mbikiriize, a two-year-old Ugandan boy, is the youngest of five children in his family. “His father is a peasant and his mother is a housewife,” says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). A few weeks after his birth, Mbikiriize developed swelling in his left groin, which doctors diagnosed as an inguinal scrotal hernia, or a protrusion of the intestine through the lower abdominal wall. “Mbikiriize’s parents were advised to take him for surgery when he would be a little older,” says AMHF. “His father was still looking for money to take him to the hospital when he heard about help from Watsi at Virika hospital.” If Mbikiriize’s hernia goes untreated, he risks suffering intestinal obstruction, incarceration and/or strangulation. During the proposed surgery, doctors will push the herniated tissue back into the abdominal cavity and repair the hole in his abdominal wall. The $220 procedure will eliminate the aforementioned risks and allow Mbikiriize to attend school when he is old enough. “Each time my son’s hernia becomes visible I get scared that it will burst one day,” says Mbikiriize’s father. “I am very grateful for the help you are planning to give me.”