Meet Phanun, a 15-year-old boy from Cambodia who likes to play football, listen to music, and watch TV during his free time. To support his family of seven siblings, Phanun decided to stop going to school and start working at a restaurant. Phanun recently got his fingers caught in a sausage machine while working at the restaurant. Although he went to a hospital in Phnom Penh for treatment on the day of his accident, the condition of his hand has only worsened. His right index finger is very swollen, and his fractured middle finger causes him a lot of pain. Using his injured hand is very difficult. Furthermore, there is severe necrosis, or tissue death, in his middle finger. If left untreated, this could spread to other tissue in his hand, causing further pain and complications. Phanun's parents learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), from a relative. Phanun traveled for four hours with his mother to reach CSC for treatment. On March 17, surgeons at CSC will amputate Phanun's middle finger in order to prevent the necrosis from spreading. This will allow the rest of his right hand to heal. Over time, he will regain full function of his hand. Now, his family needs help to pay for this $446 procedure.

Sophal is a 51-year-old farmer who is married without children. He enjoys listening to old Khmer songs, talking with his friends at home, and watching the news on TV. In April, Sophal was in a motorcycle accident. This caused a closed left forearm fracture. He tried traditional Khmer medicine treatment for two months but his fracture did not improve. His arm is painful and swollen and it is difficult for him to carry anything. For $405 Surgeons at the Children's Surgical Center (CSC), Watsi's medical partner, will perform an operation to realign the bones and set them straight with the help of pins. After surgery he will regain function of his left arm.

“I want my son to live a better life than me, and the only way is for him to get an education,” shares Siombo’s father. “With strong legs he can walk to school, and so I hope he will be able to walk properly some day.” Siombo is a polite little boy from Tanzania. At four years old, Siombo is the eldest in a family of two children. He enjoys coloring pictures and watching other children play. When Siombo was eighteen months old, his legs began to gradually bow outwards. Now, they are so bowed that he wiggles when walking and falls down when running. Siombo needs corrective surgery to restore his gait and reduce the risk of developing early osteoarthritis. However, Siombo’s family cannot afford the operation that would help their son. His parents earn their living by raising goats and sheep to eat, milk, and sell. Their sales have been low lately, as they have lost many of their domestic animals to diseases. There is no extra money for Siombo’s medical treatment. For $940, we can fund the operation that will correct his bowleggedness. This sum will also cover the two weeks of physical therapy and three-month stay at a recovery center that will ensure Siombo heals safely from his surgery. Let’s help this family fulfill their dreams of educating their son by enabling Siombo to walk to school comfortably.

Suzan is a cute, three-year-old girl from Tanzania. Suzan was born without any deformities, but since last year, her parents noticed their daughter’s gait slowly but surely changing. She now knocks her knees when walking and she sometimes complains of feeling pain on the knees especially after walking a long distance. Suzan is the third born in a family of four children. She is in kindergarten, and when at school she enjoys singing. She is very talkative and likes all sorts of games—running around, jumping, crawling under the bed and tiny places, and throwing balls especially in the company of other children. After each hospital visit where Suzan needed an injection, later on she would tell her father that one day she would also like to be injecting people in hospitals. Suzan’s parents are livestock keepers and they also do a little bit of farming. They earn enough to support their family’s basic needs, but the cost of their daughter’s surgery, $940, is too high for them to afford. Suzan needs corrective surgery to allow better gait and reduce the risk of developing osteoarthritis at a young age. Her father says, "I hope my daughter will regain her ability to walk normally so that she can continue with school and later become a doctor."

Meet Richard, a cute, one-year old baby boy from Tanzania. Richard likes to play with cars and crawl around. He is an only child and his parents “love him very much," says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Richard was born with bilateral clubfoot. This congenital deformity has delayed his ability to begin walking, and if not treated, Richard will not have the ability to walk on the sole of his foot or wear normal shoes. For $1,160, we can fund treatment that will allow Richard to walk normally for the rest of his life. The cost of the treatment includes cost for the surgery as well as a fiberglass cast. Richard's parents are small-scale farmers and have “already spent a lot of money trying to look for the right treatment for their son without success. Now that they have found where the clubfoot can be corrected, they do not have enough funds to cover the treatment,” says our partner, AMHF. Let's help Richard get walking. As Richard's mother says, “I would like my son to be able to walk, go to school, study well, get a good career and live a better life.”

"Shadrack a shy but playful five-year old boy and the third born in a family of four children," says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation. "He lives with his parents and siblings in a two-room house. The family resides in the in the western region of Kenya." Shadrack was born with distal hypospadius -- "his urethral orifice is abnormally placed and he has an irregular stream," says AMHF. Shadrack needs a hypospadius repair surgery to correct his condition, and allow him to pass urine normally. $655 will fund the full cost of treatment. Shadrack's parents are subsistence farmers with no external source of income, and cannot afford his treatment. “God’s grace is sufficient. I pray that he sees my son through this treatment. Thank you for supporting us," shares Shadrack's mother. AMHF tells us that "if treated, Shadrack will be able to pass urine normally. He will be less likely to develop urinary tract infection and infertility." Let's help make it happen!