Nahabwe is a small-scale farmer from Uganda. She is married with eight children. Her husband is also a small-scale farmer. She has had a painful cutaneous swelling on her right hand for six years. This has affected her work performance, as she feels pain when lifting or digging. Nahabwe traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On January 2, surgeons will remove the mass. Now, Nahabwe needs help to raise $187 to fund this procedure. Nahabwe says, “I hope to continue with cultivation after surgery.”

Agnes is 37 years old and has eight children and one grandchild. She is a farmer by occupation and grows cassava, maize, and beans to feed and support her family. For the past ten years, she has experienced severe lower abdominal and back pain. She also experiences urinary difficulty. She has been to local health facilities but has not received any treatment to improve her symptoms. She heard a radio announcement about our medical partner's care center, Bwindi Community Hospital, and traveled 36 hours by bus to receive assistance. She was diagnosed with a uterine prolapse and needs a total abdominal hysterectomy. The surgery is scheduled for November 3. Now, she needs help raising $321 to fund treatment.

Emmanuel is seven years old and the fourth child in a family of five children. Emmanuel’s parents rely on subsistence farming. They mostly grow rice. Emmanuel wishes to go to school like his brothers, but due to the severe condition of his lower limbs he is unable to walk the long distance to school. Emmanuel’s left leg is bent inwards and his right leg is bent outwards, a condition known as windswept deformity. He feels pain when walking or running. He visited our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, and learned that he would need surgery. Corrective surgery will restore Emmanuel’s ability to walk properly and allow him to go to school and do other things with ease. He is scheduled for treatment on October 17. The surgery will cost $838. What his father earns is not enough to cover the cost of surgery, so the family needs help raising money. Emmanuel says, “I would like to work in the farm like my father when I grow up."

"As Angelina kept growing, so did the mass," says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). "Despite her condition, Angelina is an active and happy baby." Seven-month-old Angelina is from Tanzania, and was born with a closed myelomeningocele -- a mass on her lower back which can rupture anytime. If it were to rupture, AMHF tells us, the loss of cerebral spinal fluid would be life-threatening for her. For $1100, AMHF can operate on Angelina and remove the mass. She will no longer have the condition and her family will not need worry about a potential rupture. Her parents work hard selling maize and millet to support the family, but cannot come up with the funds for her surgery. “It is our great hope that our daughter will get the right treatment to remove the swelling on her lower back as it keeps growing bigger and bigger," says Angelina's mother. "We want her to be able to crawl, walk and continue with normal growth like the rest of our children so that later on she can also go to school."

Meet Chhay, a 71-year-old grandfather from Cambodia who adores his nine children and ten grandchildren! He works on a farm, likes to keep his yard clean, and has been developing irrigation systems for his and his neighbor’s gardens. Chhay shows no signs of slowing down in his contributions to his community, though he has unfortunately been experiencing vision complications. “Chhay has a pterygium in his left eye that has been causing him discomfort for many months,” report our partners at Children’s Surgical Centre. “He constantly has a burning and itchy feeling in his eye, and his face is puffy due to rubbing. His vision has begun to blur slightly as well.” For $150 we can fund pterygium removal surgery and follow-up care that will alleviate the discomfort in Chhay’s eye. Let’s help Chhay return to his community irrigation projects and to enjoy time with his grandchildren free from eye irritation and blurry vision!

This is Zakia, a two-year-old girl from Tanzania. She is the youngest of five siblings and lives with her mother who works hard as a small-scale farmer. Zakia was born with bilateral club foot, a congenital condition in which the feet are turned inwards about 90 degrees. The toes face each other instead of facing outwards. This has been hard for Zakia; it takes her a long time to stand up and she is not able to walk. Additionally, she is at risk to develop painful osteoarthritis in her feet. Despite these challenges, Zakia is resilient. "Zakia is a cheerful little baby girl," our medical partner writes. "Although she cannot walk, she still joins other children when they are playing by sitting close by and cheering." Zakia's mother wants the best for her daughter but is unable to pay for the corrective surgery Zakia needs. “My hope is to see my daughter able to walk like the rest of my children so that she can go to school and later get a job,” she says. Watsi donors, you can make this a reality. For $715, Zakia can receive a casting procedure and a surgery called a tenotomy to correct her clubbed feet. These two procedures will allow her walk and finally keep up with all of her friends!

Dennis lives with his 15-year-old mother and his retired grandparents, who are working hard to try to support the youngest member of their family, but they do not have a regular income. Dennis was born with spina bifida, a congenital disorder caused by the incomplete closing of the neural tube. A portion of the spinal cord protrudes through the skin, causing an open hole in the lower back. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, reports, “if surgery is not done, Dennis is likely to develop an infection or have spinal complications as he grows up. This can lead to mobility issues and nerve damage.” Dennis’ grandmother is hopeful we can help her grandson. She says, “My hope is to see my grandchild well. How I pray and hope that we’ll find treatment for him. I hope we’ll get support for his surgery.” For $980, Dennis will receive a spina bifida closure, a surgery that will close the hole in his back. This surgery will reduce Dennis’ risk of infection and eliminate his possibility of developing spinal complications.

Meet Faith, a three-year-old girl from Kenya. Faith is the youngest of nine (that’s right, nine!) children. Her parents own a small farm, which they depend on for their daily consumption. They also work small jobs around their village to provide for the basic needs of their large family. Faith has a brain tumor. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation explains, “as a result she experiences convulsions, headaches and feels weak. Without treatment, her tumor will likely be fatal.” With nine mouths to feed and provide for, Faith’s parents cannot afford the cost of the surgery she needs. They are deeply distressed because they know that they cannot pay for the treatment which will most likely save their daughter's life. Faith’s father says, “I feel so sad watching my daughter’s health deteriorate. How I hope that she will be treated as soon as possible.” We can help her father's wish come true! For $1,500, Faith will receive a craniotomy, a surgery that our doctors are optimistic will save Faith's life. Let's give Faith the chance to grow up and have a happy, healthy childhood with her eight siblings!

“I will be very happy to have straight feet. I will be able to wear shoes, and walking and running will be easy,” says ten-year-old Neema. Neema is from Tanzania and lives with neglected bilateral clubfeet. This condition severely impairs her gait and requires her to use the lateral aspect of her feet. Our Medical Partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, writes, “If not treated, Neema will develop early osteoarthritis”. Neema lives with her parents and six siblings. In school she likes math and dreams of one day becoming a teacher. Neema likes to skip rope with her friends, but cannot skip as long as the other children, due to her condition. Neema’s parents, who support their large family working as small-scale farmers, are not able to pay for her corrective surgery. For $715, our medical partner in Tanzania will be able to perform serial casting and bilateral posteromedial release on Neema’s feet.

Meet one-year-old Douglas from Guatemala. Douglas' family is struggling to keep food on the table. This has contributed to Douglas' medical problems, which includes severe malnutrition. They are happy to have finally connected with a source of medical help and are hoping to see a positive change soon. Douglas was referred to our partner clinic in Guatemala because of malnutrition. He is chronically ill with intestinal infections. As a result, Douglas has a poor appetite and low energy levels. Believe it or not, he has not gained any weight at all in almost a year. He has also not grown in height and is not walking and talking like a normal 1.5 year old. We're raising $525 for Douglas' intensive nutritional therapy. Without our help, his growth will remain stunted in many ways, physically and mentally. But with your support, we can ensure that his chronic intestinal infections are cured, that he resumes growth, and that his developmental progress will pick up.

This little one is from a family that lives in Guatemala. The family is quite poor and has limited capacity to access medical care as a result. They need our help to move forward with improving the nutritional status of their child, Edgar. Edgar is very small. In particular, his height is many times below normal for his age. He is also developmentally delayed, with poor motor control and coordination. All of this is the result of continual acute infectious illnesses, as well as extreme poverty, poor dietary diversity, and lack of access to high quality food supplements. Because of his condition, Edgar is unable to eat properly and absorb the necessary nutrients for a healthier life style, and he also has continual acute infectious illness. For $525, we can fund Edgar's surgery so he can be able to grow up into a healthy young man without any obstacles!

Adelina is a sweet 15-year-old from Tanzania. She lives with her mother and grandparents, loves to play football (soccer), and dreams of growing up to become a soldier in the Tanzanian defense force. She also lives with unicystic ameloblastoma, which causes benign cysts to swell on her face. This swelling is both painful and extremely uncomfortable, and Adelina has become self-conscious when people make comments about her appearance. Adelina says she loses sleep over her condition, and simply wishes to look normal again. Unfortunately, her mother is unable to pay for medical treatment and her father is indifferent to what Adelina is going through. Together for $1375, the Watsi community can step in and help Adelina receive surgery to permanently remove the swelling from her face. Let's help her go back to school, walk around without covering her face, and play with her friends comfortably again!