“It's heartbreaking to hear the painful cries of Christina. Sometimes I wish I had the pain instead because she is so innocent,” shares Christina's father. Christina, a five-month-old girl from Kenya, has a condition called hydrocephalus, where she has an abnormal head size due to the accumulation of cerebral spinal fluid in her head. If Christina, a patient with the African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), is not treated, the fluid might cause brain damage. She is also “irritable due to the high intra-cranial pressure exerted on the brain,” shares AMHF. $615 funds a treatment that will place a shunt into Christina's head to drain the excess fluid. The surgical care will “regulate the intra-cranial pressure in her head and lessen irritability.” Christina is the youngest in a family of seven children, and her father works as a security guard while her mother stays at home and takes care of the children. Her parents cannot afford this treatment, but “hope that Christina will be able to get the surgery she desperately needs.”

Chit Sandar was born at the Hpa-an General Hospital in Burma. At six months old she became sick with a fever. Her mother took her to the doctor where she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a life-threatening condition in which cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain. Burma has one of the most under-funded healthcare systems in the world, with little government assistance. The Burmese government spends approximately $37 per person per year on healthcare in contrast to, for example, the US which spends $9,146. Chit Sandar's mother could not afford to pay for her surgery, which meant they had to return home from the doctor without receiving care. After they returned home, Chit Sandar's condition continued to worsen. The circumference of her head expanded as a result of the fluid buildup in her brain and she started experiencing loss of consciousness, sunken eyes, and sometimes she would lose control of her head movements all together. Chit Sandar needs a ventriculoperitoneal shunt placement, which will drain the fluid from the brain and cure her hydrocephalus. $1,485 will cover the cost of Chit Sandar's surgery which will be provided at the Chiang Mai Hospital in Thailand. Chit Sandar's mother wants her daughter to survive surgery, receive a good education, and grow up to support a family of her own.