“Heydy likes to play and imitate her mother’s singing voice,” our medical partner, Wuku’ Kawoq (WK), tells us. “She also likes to look at picture books.” At 21 months old, Heydy is the youngest of her three siblings. Her parents support the family through farm labor and weaving. Heydy often has night sweats and suffers from allergies, her mother explains. Her height and weight are far below the average for her age, indicating acute malnutrition. The family has a limited ability to afford healthy, nutritious meals and the calories Heydy does absorb are being lost as a result of her diarrhea. Malnutrition has serious consequences for children like Heydy in Guatemala. Without treatment, she will continue to miss major mental and physical developmental milestones that are important for her to reach her potential. Her immune system will suffer, exposing her to chronic illness, and her energy and concentration levels will suffer. To get her health back on track, Heydy needs intervention by doctors and nutritionists. WK is confident in the difference this treatment will make on Heydy’s health. “She will receive micronutrient and food supplementation as well as medication to treat her fever and the gastrointestinal infection causing her diarrhea. This will help her to absorb the calories she consumes and increase her appetite,” they explain. “We believe this treatment will help her to gain both weight and height, strengthen her immune system, and help her get back on track to develop her full potential.” In addition to Heydy’s treatment, her mother will receive education nutritional classes to give her the tools to support the family’s nutritional health in the long-term. For $535 Heydy will receive the care she needs. These funds will cover the costs for the family to travel to the treatment center, afford the medicines and nutritional supplements as well as the nutritional education. Her mother is grateful for the opportunity to have Heydy treated. “This is going to help us because buying what Heydy needs is very difficult,” she shares. “I’m so happy to have her entered in this program.”

"I just want to live without pain," shares Kakyondo, a 70-year-old Ugandan woman who relies on her six children and her job as a subsistence farmer to support herself. “Despite her old age Kakyondo still goes to the gardens to farm but because of the pain she is in, she can no longer work on her garden,” explains our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Kakyondo’s pain is caused by uterine prolapse, a condition in which the uterus descends through the vagina outwardly. She first developed abdominal pain about 20 years ago, after her husband passed away. It wasn't until recently, though, that Kakyondo visited a nearby clinic and was given medication. However, her pain continued to worsen and she now experiences heavy bleeding. “Kakyondo gave birth to 14 children but only six are still living,” adds AMHF. High numbers of pregnancies and births are often linked to the development of uterine prolapse, which may explain why Kakyondo is currently dealing with the condition. While rare in the United States, uterine prolapse is commonly seen in developing countries, where women typically have more pregnancies and children. If left untreated, Kakyondo will continue to experience pain and bleeding, which could result in anemia. For $165, Kakyondo will receive a total abdominal hysterectomy, a procedure in which a surgeon will remove her uterus and cervix. This is a relatively simple procedure, after which Kakyondo’s bleeding will stop and she can live without pain. In addition to covering the operation, funding will also go toward a four-day hospital stay and all necessary medication for Kakyondo. Let's help this mother regain her health, energy, and mobility.

Sinyati is a four-year-old girl who lives with her mother and father in Tanzania. Her mother is a house wife and her father raises cattle, but unfortunately many of their cows have died due to diseases and their income has been unpredictable as a result. Sinyati was recently in a terrible accident. Her shawl caught fire, and she endured bad burns on her right knee. Ever since the injury, she's been unable to walk properly. Sinyati's parents told her doctors that they hope their daughter will be able to walk again. For $505, we can fund Sinyati’s post-burn reconstructive surgery so she can live a normal, mobile life, unrestricted by a childhood accident.

Muksin is an eight-year-old boy from Tanzania who is perpetually cheerful despite his inability to walk or run like normal kids. Muksin was born with club foot, a painful condition where the foot turns inward at the ankle. Even though it's difficult, he does his best to keep up with other children. He says he dreams of becoming a football player. Muksin's parents work hard to afford basic needs. His father is a carpenter and his mother works at a local bar. They deeply wish for their son to be able to walk normally, but without treatment, his condition could get worse and progress into osteoarthritis. Just $715 will provide this happy young boy with surgery to lengthen his Achilles tendon and casting that will help him walk and run properly. Let's help this future football player gain full mobility!