Raymond is a 2-year-old toddler from Kenya and the only child in his family. A few months back, his mother lost her job at a clothing store because she must be at the hospital most of the time attending to her son. She works more flexible jobs like washing clothes for people in her neighborhood to help provide for the family. Raymond has been in and out of the hospital since birth. He was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease, a condition where the ganglion cells in the colon responsible for pushing food through are inactive or dead. He has undergone a series of surgeries through the family's health insurance fund. After a long journey, Raymond has one procedure left, but their insurance coverage has been exhausted, and they request financial assistance for his final procedure. Raymond underwent a colostomy, a procedure in which the end of the colon was brought through an opening in the abdominal wall. Raymond's colostomy requires closure in order to restore his bowel function and prevent future complications. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is requesting $1,084 to cover the cost of his colostomy closure. The surgery is scheduled to take place on March 14th and, once completed, will allow Raymond to live more comfortably and confidently moving forward. Raymond's mother said: "We have come a long way with his treatment, and I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. I really hope that it will go as planned."

Mon is a playful 4-year-old from Burma. She lives with her parents on the Thai-Burma border. Her mother works as a chef in a tea shop, and her father works as a day laborer. Her parents take turns looking after her. When Mon was one and a half years old, her mother noticed that her head was increasing in size and that Mon's left side of her body was becoming weak. They brought Yon to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with a brain tumor and later received a VP shunt. After the surgery, Mon began to experience frequent seizures and vomiting. Her mother brought her to our medical partner's hospital, where the doctor suspected her shunt might be blocked. The doctors want Mon to undergo a CT scan, a procedure in which x-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose her condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Mon will receive a CT scan on February 9th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Mon's CT scan and care. Mon's mother shared: "I am very thankful for the help I received from BCMF. I am worried about my child's further treatment because we have no money. After we get her CT result, we will know her [VP] shunt condition and about her further treatment."

Dennis is the first born in a family of four children. When he finished high school, he was reluctant to join college because of his condition. He currently is not able to work because he gets easily tired and cannot carry heavy loads. He joined college just recently but has been out of school for the past two months. Now that he is at home, he helps his mother who picks tea for a living. He does not have a health insurance coverage and cannot raise the required amount of money to cater for his hospital bill. In 2019 while he was sitting for his national school exams, Dennis experienced sharp pain in his esophagus. He took a glass of water, and the pain went away for a few weeks. The pain used to occur roughly two times in a month and a glass of water would help a lot. Late last year, the pain worsened. He was not in a position to swallow food. He went to a herbalist and was given some medication to use for some time. When the dose was over, the pain was still persistent, and he still could not swallow food normally. He was then referred to Kijabe Hospital by a friend where he was examined and given some medication to use. He didn't feel better and decided to go back to the herbalist for different medication but there was no change. Later he finally returned to Kijabe Hospital and scans and tests revealed that he has Achalasia. He is scheduled for a heller's myotomy which is a curative laparotomy surgery for his condition. Now he needs $1,074 to pay for the surgery. Dennis says, "I feel very sad. If I was healthy, I would be able to work well and be comfortable with myself.”