Jiether is a three-year-old boy from the Philippines. He has a twin brother and six other siblings. He loves to play basketball with his twin brother, and he loves to sing and dance. Jiether's mother is a farmer, and the family lives in a house made of bamboo and wood. They share electricity with their neighbors and source water from a deep well. Jiether has been diagnosed with acute malnutrition. He began $184 malnutrition treatment on October 18, 2016. Jiether is being treated by International Care Ministries (ICM), a Watsi medical partner. One out of five children under five in ICM communities is either severely or moderately acutely malnourished. Worldwide, poor nutrition is associated with nearly half of all deaths in young children. In remote communities and urban slums of the Philippines, the lack of clean water and unclean environments add risk to potentially fatal childhood diseases. ICM’s Home-Based Feeding program provides nutrient-enriched food packs to ensure malnourished children get additional food to regain normal weight and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child as malnourished, staff and community volunteers make weekly visits to monitor this child’s progress. To help sustain the health of the child, ICM's professional staff educate the mother, guardian, or other family members about proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene, and organic vegetable gardening. "I hope that Jiether recovers from malnutrition and finishes school someday," says his mother. "I pray that he will pursue his dreams and goals in his life."

“Patience was born at home, but was rushed to a nearby district hospital when her parents noticed an open mass on her back,” explains the African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), our medical partner in Kenya. Patience has spina bifida, a condition in which the vertebrae overlying the spinal cord remain unfused and open to the air. “Four-day-old baby Patience is the last born child in a family of eight children,” shares AMHF. “Patience's father is an herbalist, while her mother tends to their small farm. Patience's family is unable to raise funds for her surgical care.” For $805, we can fund a procedure that will close the open mass on Patience’s back. “Patience’s surgery will prevent infection and other complications of the spinal cord like tethered cord or kyphoscoliosis [irregular curvature of the spine],” AMHF explains. "I was very scared when I saw the open mass on my baby's back,” Patience's mother says. “I feared that she would not survive a day. I thank God that she can be treated and live a normal life."

“It is so sad to see my little son in pain. I’ll be very glad when I see him recover from treatment," says the father of Caleb, a five-day-old boy from Kenya. Caleb has spina bifida, also known as a neural tube defect, that caused an open cyst on his back. If untreated Caleb is likely to develop an infection, tethered cord, or kyphoscoliosis, which is an irregular curvature of the spine. Caleb’s parents have not been able to raise funds for Caleb’s surgery and are worried about their only child. With $805 our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, will be able to provide Caleb with spina bifida closure surgery. This will help prevent infection and any possibility of tethered cord or kyphoscoliosis development. Together, we can help Caleb grow up healthy!