This is Om. She is 60 years old, and lives in Cambodia. She enjoys planting vegetables around her house and visiting the local pagoda, or temple, to hear monks pray. Om developed cataracts in both of her eyes two years ago. The cataracts have blurred her vision and have made her eyes tear. She can’t see anything clearly, do work well, or travel outside of her town. Luckily, we can help. For $225, Om will receive surgery that will restore her vision. She told our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), ‘I hope my eyes will be able to see everything clearly now. I’d like to help my nephew take care of his child and I’d like to move around independently once again.’ Let’s make it happen for Om!

Erickarry is a four-year-old boy from Haiti. “Erickarry is a playful and happy child who enjoys going to preschool and playing video games with his brothers," our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance (HCA) tells us. "He also likes playing with his new baby sister who is two months old. His parents both work in the local marketplace.” “Erickarry was born with a condition called subaortic membrane, in which an abnormal membrane partially blocks blood flow through the aortic valve," explains HCA. "This makes it difficult for blood to circulate normally, and leads to heart failure.” Erickarry needs surgery to restore normal blood flow to his heart and body. HCA has arranged for Erickarry to be transported to a treatment centre where they are equipped to handle his surgery. Gift of Life International is subsidizing this treatment with $5,000, and an extra $1,500 in Watsi funding will cover preparation and transportation costs involved in Erickarry's surgery. When the operation is complete, he should have no more symptoms from his condition. “Erickarry is very scared about the surgery, but we are comforting him because we know he needs it and it will make him better,” shares his mother.

Joseph is just over three months old. When he was born in his home in Tanzania this past October, he developed jaundice, “but his mother did not notice until when his brother came to see the baby and commented on the [yellow] color of his eyes,” according to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). After taking her baby to the hospital, Joseph’s mother learned that his jaundice is being caused by a choledochal cyst, or an abnormal lump in his bile ducts. This “intra-abdominal mass is preventing the drainage of bile and pancreatic juice to the intestine to assist digestion,” AMHF tells us. If left untreated, choledochal cysts can be fatal, as they sometimes lead to complications such as pancreatitis and masses forming in the liver. Joseph urgently needs to undergo surgery to address this dangerous cyst in his abdomen. However, his mother, who earns her wages by farming a small plot of land and two cows, cannot afford to pay for the operation. In addition to Joseph, she and her husband must provide their seven other children with the basic needs of food, clothing, and school supplies. For $920, we can fund the operation that will remove his choledochal cyst. This sum will also pay for his six-day hospital stay post-operation, and a six-week stay at a children’s recover center, Plaster House. After this procedure, “There will be adequate bile and pancreatic juice flow to the intestine to assist digestion and Joseph will continue with normal growth,” AMHF says. Joseph’s mother shares, “I pray that my son will get well, have good health and continue with normal growth so that I too can start working and take better care of my children.”

Two-month-old Anthony lives with his parents and three older siblings in a one-room house in Kenya. “Anthony was born with a head that was not proportional to his body in size,” our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), tells us. “Anthony’s head has been progressively increasing in size.” Anthony’s increasing head size is the result of hydrocephalus, a condition in which there is an accumulation of fluid in the brain as a result of infection, trauma, malformation of the central nervous system, or genetic defect. AMHF continues, “Anthony is at a risk of increased intracranial pressure, which may result in brain damage if not treated.” Treatment for Anthony is a shunt to drain the excess fluid from his brain. Doctors insert the shunt into the brain and connect it to a tube that runs under the skin and empties into the abdomen, where the excess fluid can be resorbed by the body. The procedure “will reduce the risk of Anthony suffering brain damage,” says AMHF. Anthony’s father works as a welder, and the family runs a small-scale farm on their ancestral land. Despite their hard work, they do not earn enough money to pay for the surgery that Anthony needs. For $615, Anthony will undergo surgery and spend five days in the hospital as he recovers. Funding also covers the costs of imaging, blood work, and medicine. “If there is anything I could do, I would not hesitate so as to eliminate whatever he is undergoing,” shares Anthony’s mother. “My hope is that someday he will be well.”