“I would like to go to school like my brothers,” says Zakia, a four-year-old girl from Tanzania. One of eleven siblings, Zakia dreams of being able to run, play, and attend school like the rest of her siblings. She is limited, however, by genu varum—a misalignment of the knee joint and femur which not only makes it difficult for her to walk, but also causes her severe knee pain. Genu varum is common in Tanzania due to high levels of fluoride in drinking water. Treatment involves a long-term process of casting, surgery, and physiotherapy. Zakia’s parents are small scale farmers, but with a large family to look after they have been unable to raise the money needed for her treatment. $940 will support her complete stay in both the hospital and Plaster House, a rehabilitation facility that specializes in postoperative care for children. With treatment, “Zakia’s gait will improve and the chances of her developing early osteoarthritis will greatly decrease,” says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). She will be able to play like other children her age and will be able to attend school just like her brothers.

“Every time I am in a tap-tap going somewhere the folks look at me like I am not a normal person and this makes me feel very bad,” shares 20-year-old Kerson. Kerson was born in Haiti with a cleft lip, and has never been to school. Kerson has never met his father, and his single mother cares for all six of her children. Most days he is left on his own, so Kerson does whatever odd jobs he can find, like scavenging for metal or building small stoves. The family cannot afford medical care for Kerson’s cleft lip. For $960, we can fund cleft lip repair surgery for Kerson in collaboration with our partners at Project Medishare. “I feel very excited for the surgery,” Kerson relates. “It is like a new page of my life is going to be open. I did not even think that a surgery to fix my lip was possible. I cannot wait for it!”

Neema is a shy 13-year-old girl from Tanzania. She is the third child in a family of five children. “Her parents are small-scale farmers trying their best to raise five children. They need financial support so that their daughter can get corrective surgery which she badly needs,” our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), tells us. Neema has a condition called right genu valgus, which causes her to knock her knees when walking or running. This is very painful for Neema. AMHF informs us that Neema was in primary school, about to finish the fourth grade, when she developed her condition. Her condition made it impossible for Neema to walk to school as fast as she needed to and she would fall down if she tried to run. Neema started being late to school. Her class attendance become poor and eventually her head master discontinued her from attending school until she received proper medical attention. Neema used to enjoy art classes and playing rede (a local ball game) with other students. “One day I hope to become a primary school teacher,” says Neema. For $940, Neema will be provided with the corrective surgery that she needs. AMHF predicts, “Neema will be able to walk without knocking her knees and often falling down. She will be able to walk to school and continue with her education with decreased risk of developing early osteoarthritis.” Let’s work together and give Neema the opportunity to go back to school!

Say hello to Nara, a sweet one-year-old from Cambodia! According to our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), “Nara likes to eat rice with pork, and he loves playing with his favorite stuffed animal." Unfortunately, “baby Nara was born with a congenital cataract in his left eye. He is partially blind, which will make it difficult for him to develop and attend school. Nara’s father is afraid his son will go blind and won’t be able to get a proper education," explains CSC. Without proper treatment, Nara will continue to have impaired eyesight, and could lose his eyesight completely. For $150, Nara will receive the necessary surgery to remove his cataract – this will prevent future blindness, and will restore his sight. Let’s help Nara live a healthy childhood!

Elizabeth is a strong 80-year-old woman from Tanzania. As the matriarch of her family, she has four children, sixteen grandchildren, and sixteen great-grandchildren! Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, shares with us that Elizabeth loves having visitors at home “because that is when she gets the opportunity to talk and laugh.” Elizabeth has osteoarthritis on both of her knees. Osteoarthritis results when the protective cartilage at the ends of bones is worn down over time. Although there are other ways to treat osteoarthritis in its earlier stages, after a certain point, the best way to relieve pain and restore mobility is through knee replacement surgery. While her family works hard to support Elizabeth, they cannot cover the cost of this treatment on their own and are looking to donors at Watsi for help. “I just want to be able to stand up and walk without feeling pain so that I can cook my own food and help my grandchild with a few chores at home,” Elizabeth tells us. With total knee replacement surgery, Elizabeth will be able to go about her daily life and spend time with her family pain-free! It will cost $960 to fund this crucial treatment for Elizabeth. Let’s come together and make this happen!

Agripino is a 24-year-old man living in Guatemala. He is from a rural farming village where he works in the fields, although this has become difficult to do under his condition. “Agripino came to us after several months of abdominal pain and distention,” our partners at Wuqu’ Kawog tell us. “We performed imaging studies which confirmed a tumor in his left kidney, consistent with kidney cancer. If not treated, this tumor will continue to grow and may even metastasize.” It will take $1,475 to fund the chemotherapy necessary to battle Agripino’s cancer. Since his cancer has not yet progressed to an advanced stage and hasn’t metastasized, our partner’s expect the chemotherapy to be a cure! Our partners tell us that Agripino is “upbeat and optimistic, and looking forward to beating this thing” – lets come together and make that happen!

"Carlos is a good example of why providing emergency help to some diabetics is critical to saving their lives and protecting their welfare," writes the Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK) team from Guatemala. Carlos is 39-years-old and was diagnosed with diabetes a year ago. Already, he's lost 30-40 pounds and is nearly blind. "Carlos used to work in construction, but since his illness he's been unable to work," the WK team tells us. "In adidtion to being a big blow to his self esteem, being unable to work is part of the spiral of poverty that surrounds severe diabetes. He can't work because he can't afford medications; he can't afford medications because he can't work." The WK team wants to work with Carlos to provide him acute diabetes care to control his blood sugar, help him regain his weight and vision, and get him back to good health so that he can work and care for his family. The cost of the treatment will run at $450. "I didn't know diabetes could be this severe," says Carlos. "I wasn't sure what to do and where to turn to for help." Carlos is already halfway there and in good hands with WK, so let's meet him in the middle and fund his care completely!

Joseph is resilient. Both of his parents died when he was young. He lived with his uncle for a few years, but was chased away because of his poor health. After leaving his uncle’s care, with nowhere to go, Joseph lived on the streets until a social worker arranged for his care at an orphanage. Now, Joseph has a Kaposi's sarcoma, a cancerous tumor of the connective tissue, on his foot. The tumor makes it difficult and painful for him to walk, and risks serious complications if the cancer spreads. "I dream of becoming either a doctor or an engineer," Joseph, who is currently in secondary school studying science, shares. "If God will bless me financially, I will give back to the orphanage that has been taking care of me with great love." Although the orphanage is fully supportive of Joseph’s education, there are not enough funds to provide for his medical needs. For $800 we can pay for Joseph to undergo a below-knee amputation and receive a prosthesis so he can still walk. With this treatment, doctors expect that Joseph will be pain free, able to walk normally, and no longer at risk of cancer. Let's pull together for Joseph's bright future!

Birendra is a sweet nine-year-old boy from Nepal. He fell into a pot of hot oil when he was just a year old, sustaining serious burns on his head. The burns were never properly treated. Now, the resulting scar tissue is preventing the skin on his head from fully healing, and his hair from growing. Birendra is in fourth grade and lives with his mother, grandmother, siblings, and uncle’s family. As is common in Nepal, his father works in India and sends money home. Birendra is well loved - his grandmother confided in our medical partner that he is her favorite grandson! For $1,415, we can pay for surgery that will repair the skin on Birendra's head and allow him to move past this childhood accident.