Olivious is a 34-year-old single mother from Uganda. She lost her husband four years ago to a road accident, leaving her the only breadwinner of the family. She is a farmer and together with her two children, lives in their two-roomed mud-built house. Her income is quite limited, which frustrates her efforts to provide a quality life for her children. Olivious has had lower abdominal pain, backaches and fatigue for sometime. She has not been able to work as well as she needs, due to this pain. When she visited Nyakibale Hospital, she was diagnosed with a large pelvic mass and a curative laparotomy surgery was recommended to heal her condition. She is not able to raise the $242 needed, and thus appeals for help. Olivious says, “I am not able to work well in the farms. Please fund my surgery so that I can be treated and resume my duties with ease."

Kimberly is a 5-month-old baby girl. She lives in a small city in central Bolivia with her parents, who work in the mining industry, and three siblings. Kimberly was born with several defects in her heart, including a hole between the two upper chambers as well as a second hole between the two lower chambers. As a result of these conditions, her heart struggles to pump blood through her body. During surgery, doctors will be able to sew these holes shut so that her heart functions well and is stronger. Her surgery is scheduled for January 19th. Fortunately, the organization, Gift of Life International, is subsidizing part of Kimberly's medical care, but her family still needs help to fund the remaining $1,500. Kimberly's mother says, "Our family is very hopeful that this surgery will be a success!"

Baraka is shy a seven-year-old boy from Tanzania whose grandmother takes care of him while his mother finishes school. His grandmother says she feels blessed to have a grandson. Indeed, Bakara's name in Swahili means "blessing." Due to burn-scar tissue on his knee and foot, Baraka has an impaired gait which hurts his ability to play and do everyday things comfortably. Inability to play with other children has cultivated Baraka's withdrawn personality, but he wants to participate, telling his doctors, “I wish to be able to run and play like other children.” For $505, we can cover the cost of the operation to remove the scar tissue, improve Baraka's gait, and allow him to run and play with other children.

Six year old Choolwe comes from a loving family. His parents' lives are on hold at the moment, however, because Choolwe has hydrocephalus, a disorder that causes increased cerebrospinal fluid in the brain. Choolwe's head has grown to such a large size due to the fluid buildup that he cannot function normally. Recently, he lost the ability to speak. If left untreated, hydrocephalus can be fatal. We are raising $1750 for Choolwe to have "shunt" surgery to drain the fluid from his brain. Choolwe's father is staying with him in the children's ward - trusting that he can take his son home soon with his mobility, speech and hearing returned.