Benard is a small scale farmer from Kenya. He is known to friends and villagers alike as the tall and slim guy. Benard is a hardworking young man. Born and bred in the valleys of Resim village (Kenya), Benard is one of the five children of Mr. Paul, a security guard at a private homestead within their home area. Benard schooled at Kaptura primary school a few meters away from home. He dropped out of school in grade seven due to insufficient funds at home. Benard is employed by a neighbor to operate his motorcycle as a taxi. Benard was well until Friday 20th of September evening when he was involved in a road traffic accident while he was heading home from work. He sustained severe injury to his right leg. Benard was brought to our hospital and after doctors’ assessment and X-ray done, he was diagnosed with proximal tibia fracture. he can not stand nor walk without support and is in chronic pain Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On September 26th, Benard will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. Bernard will be able to walk once he has healed and he will be able to resume working. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $968 to fund this procedure. Benard says, “I want to be able to walk again. I can’t withstand the pain in my leg."

Sirila is a young student from Tanzania. She is the fourth born in a family of seven children. She is currently in second grade. Her best subjects are mathematics, Swahili, and social studies. She wishes to be a doctor when she grows up. Both of Sirila’s parents are small-scale farmers of maize, beans, and vegetables. Sirila was diagnosed with genu varus. Her legs bow outward at the knees. This condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. As a result, she cannot walk to school without pain and discomfort. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $940 to fund corrective surgery for Sirila. The procedure is scheduled to take place on October 11. Treatment will hopefully restore Sirila's mobility, allow her to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decrease her risk of future complications. Sirila’s mother says, “Please help my daughter. Her condition keeps worsening every day. We don’t know what to do.”

“I thank the donors for helping me pay my hospital bills,” shares Elizabeth. “I have sold almost all of my property for my previous surgeries.” Meet Elizabeth, a 53-year-old woman from rural Uganda. Since her husband’s death twenty years ago, Elizabeth has raised her sons and daughters as a single mother. In addition to caring for the children, she provided them with food and a bit of income from her work as a farmer of bananas, beans, and cassava. Now that the children are grown, it is one of Elizabeth’s greatest joys to talk to them about their futures during her free time. In 2010, Elizabeth was diagnosed with multiple uterine fibroids, and had an operation to remedy the problem. But since then, Elizabeth has continued to have related symptoms that interfere with her daily life, such as recurrent abdominal pains. Elizabeth needs to undergo a laparotomy (exploratory surgery conducted by making an incision in the abdomen) so that her doctors can better determine what is causing her pain, and decide what course of action to take. She is scheduled for the procedure on June 11. Although Elizabeth he cannot afford to pay for this operation on her own, we can help. $307 will sponsor her surgery, as well as the associated lab tests, medications, and five-day hospital stay. This laparotomy will be a major step towards relieving Elizabeth’s pain and GI discomfort.

Ahmed is a one-month-old boy from Kenya. He was born with an open mass on his back. His parents learned that he had spina bifida, a spinal defect. Without treatment, he risked infection or development of tethered cord syndrome. Ahmed was immediately referred to a specialist at our medical partner's care center, BethanyKids Kijabe Hospital. On December 8, he underwent a spina bifida closure procedure. Ahmed's family lives in the northeastern region of Kenya. His mother is a housewife, and his father is a long-distance driver. They cannot afford to pay their son's medical bill. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,097 to fund this procedure. “In life, we go through some difficult experiences," says Ahmed's mother. "They are hard for people to experience, and I think we just have this tendency to want to put our heads down and close our eyes. When you do that, there’s so much that you can miss. What you can miss is the fact that people are better than you ever thought they would be, and that people are so kind and so generous. I have faith that we will get help from Watsi, and I appreciate their willingness to help. I am looking forward to a healthier Ahmed."

"Rispah noticed she had a mass on her breast in May 2014. Her doctor recommended surgical removal of the mass. Rispah had no money for the surgery and kept the sickness away from her children so as to avoid bothering them financially," shares her doctor at African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). "One year later, the mass has grown rapidly and Rispah experiences bouts of pain," AMHF continues. "She struggles to perform tasks such as doing laundry. Rispah eventually informed her children who brought her to our facility." "65-year-old Rispah is widowed. She lives with her eldest daughter in Kenya - a single mother who has two children. Rispah says she enjoys living with her grandchildren. “I feel like a young mother again,” she says smiling. Rispah farms on a quarter acre of land her deceased husband left her. For the last harvest, Rispah had no maize harvest to sell, and the little she did was used at home," AMHF continues. For $740, we can fund a mastectomy to remove Rispah's breast. "After a mastectomy, we expect the cancer spread will be halted," AMHF says. "Rispah will have a chance to regain her full health." "All my attention is on my health now,” Rispah adds. “I want to farm maize and beans when I get well.”