“I wish I could go to school. My dream is to someday work in our village dispensary as a nurse,” says Asha, a 12-year-old from Tanzania. 
Asha severely burned her right hand in an accident over a year ago. As the burn healed, scars formed that caused the skin on her wrist and hand to become stiff and inflexible. Known as a burn scar contracture, due to this condition Asha cannot use her right hand. She cannot attend school or perform her daily chores. Asha, the youngest of four, lives with her grandmother. Her grandmother works hard as a casual laborer at nearby farms to provide for her grandchildren. However, she does not have the means to pay for the $505 surgery Asha needs to regain mobility in her right hand. The contracture release surgery would release the tension from the damaged skin tissue and help Asha’s wrist and arm heal properly with casting. Let’s help Asha return to school so she can pursue her dreams of becoming a nurse!

Candelaria is a 46-year-old mother of two from Guatemala. Recently, she sought medical attention for sharp abdominal pains. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The good news is that Candelaria's tumors can be shrunk through chemotherapy. Shrinking them will reduce her pain and increase her life expectancy, but the cost of chemotherapy is out of reach for her family. For $1,475, Candelaria can receive chemotherapy treatment that will effectively decrease the size of her tumors. Let's help Candelaria get the care she needs to improve her quality of life and allow her to focus on caring for her children.

Maria is a 27-year-old woman from Guatemala who lives with her elderly parents. When she was 16 years old, Maria began to develop severe stiffness in her muscles and have pronounced tremors. Now, Maria has trouble walking, talking, eating, and doing basic tasks independently. Recently, she and the staff at Wuqu' Kawoq had an amazing Skype conference with expert neurologists from Boston who concluded that she has a very rare, inherited Parkinson's-like illness. The doctors at Wuqu’ Kawoq are requesting $450 to cover the costs of an initial evaluation and medication needed to perform a "range-finding" process, where the medical staff will calibrate the right long-term medication and dosage for her condition. Our partners are confident that they will be able to find the medication dosage that will make almost all the symptoms disappear, and they are willing to cover her long-term costs if Watsi donors can just get her started. Maria's doctor says this would be “like a new life for this patient, totally revolutionizing her independence and function.” Let’s help Maria own her life once again!

Three-year-old Chriswell is a strong boy from Malawi who was born with a condition called genu valgus (knock knees) in both legs. He feels pain when walking, and running is "out of the question." Chriswell won't be able to start school next year if he doesn't receive treatment. Chriswell lives with his parents and three siblings. His father resells items in a small market to support their family with food and other necessities. The cost of this treatment is outside of their reach. For $1,000, we can fund Chriswell’s surgery so he can start school on time with his peers and live a normal life!