Ashley is a young girl from Kenya who has been having umbilical hernia since birth. She is a student in class one and aspires to be a teacher. Ashely is the third-born of four children all living together in a one-room house in the Nyanza region of Kenya. Ashley’s parents are casual farmers taking up any farming job that come their way. This helps sustain their needs and pay school fees for their three schooling children. They are not able to raise the funds needed for Ashley’s surgical care. She was delivered at her at home, as advised by their neighbors not to go to the hospital. Every baby had a protruding navel and Ashley’s case was no exception. When she turned three years old, in 2015, her father was not convinced that the swelling was normal considering he had two children before Ashley. Her parents brought her to the hospital to seek treatment. The doctor sent her home and was told to wait until she was 4 years old, to see if the condition would retract. In 2017, they came back to the hospital where an umbilicoplasty was recommended. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $423 to fund Ashley's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably. “I want to be a teacher when I grow up,” says Ashley.

Meet William, a baby boy from Tanzania. When William was two days old, he was diagnosed with Hirschprung Disease -- a condition in which the nerves never fully develop in the large intestine, causing many digestive issues. “William will not develop and grow like other children with this deformity,” our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), tells us. “He will not be able to process food and pass stool. It is not compatible with life.” William's father has a limited income from farming, but his parents are unable to afford the surgery necessary to remove part of his large intestine. AMHF can perform the surgery for $975, and it is expected that William will subsequently make a full recovery. “I pray my child will grow to be healthy,” William’s mother tells us.

Say hello to Brivian, a 20-year-old from Kenya! Brivian is expecting her first child and hoping to deliver at a hospital to ensure a safe delivery. Brivian and her husband grow their own food on a small plot of land. They work odd jobs at neighboring farms to earn the rest of the money they need to survive. Despite their hard work, they cannot afford the cost of this care. For $215, we can pay for Brivian to receive a safe delivery in a health facility under the supervision of attending nurses. 99% of the world's maternal deaths occur in developing countries, and most of them could be prevented if women delivered at hospitals instead of in their homes. Let's help Brivian deliver her child safely and go home happy!