Genesis is a 14-year-old girl from a city in central Bolivia. She is in eighth grade and lives with her mother, who raises her independently. Her mother works as a food vendor. Genesis' father passed away when she was younger. In her free time, she enjoys art and music. When Genesis was younger, she was diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta, a condition in which a major artery connected to the heart is too narrow to operate properly. When she was younger, doctors felt that the condition was not severe enough to operate; as she has grown older, however, she has felt weaker become increasingly tired, so surgery is necessary. Fortunately, our medical partners, The International Cardiac Alliance can help. Genesis is scheduled to undergo Congenital Cardiac surgery on March 21st. Our medical partners are requesting $1,500 to fund her procedure. After surgery, Genesis should make a full recovery. Genesis said, "I am hopeful that after my surgery I will feel stronger and have more energy to do things."

Magdalena is a two-year-old toddler from Tanzania. Her family depends on crop cultivation for both sustenance and income. Three of Magdalena’s siblings are school-going. In 2022, tragedy struck as Magdalena sustained severe burns on her hip, extending down to her thigh, as a result of an accident with a hot stove while she was playing. Although she required medical attention for the extensive burn wounds, her family's financial circumstances prevented them from affording extended hospital care for her. Consequently, Magdalena received only initial first aid and continued her treatment at home. Unfortunately, as her wound healed, her thigh became fused to her waist, impairing her ability to use her right leg. Since then, Magdalena’s family has been struggling to find proper treatment for her condition. During one of our medical partner care center's outreach visits, the team met Magdalena and her family and recognized the severity of her situation. The family was directed to Kafika House, where a plastic surgery camp was being held. Despite the arduous journey of over nine hours, they arrived seeking hope and help. Upon examination, Magdalena was diagnosed by a plastic surgeon who determined that she would require a release procedure to separate her thigh from her waist. However, due to the complexity of her treatment, the surgeon has clearly communicated the possibility of amputating her leg if complications arise during the surgery. Magdalena is scheduled for surgery March 7th and her family is requesting help in raising $1,088 for surgery and postoperative care. Magdalena’s mother says: “I hope my daughter’s treatment will go well and that she will be able to walk after she completes her treatment.”

Sotheara lives with her parents, two sisters, and one brother. Her parents are rice farmers, and she attends the local school with her siblings. Her favorite subject at school is Khmer and English language and she would like to be a nurse when she grows up. At home, she likes to play with her sister, exercise, and eat fried eggs and soup with rice. For the past several years, Sotheara's mom has noticed she occasionally has discharge from a small hole in the front of her left ear. Regularly she suffers from, pain, swelling, itching, headache, and fever, which prevents her from attending school. Her parents are unable to pay for medication from the pharmacy to provide temporary relief. ENT specialists at our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, have diagnosed her with a chronic pre-auricular pit sinus infection. This is a small hole or cyst just above the ear canal that some children are born with. The hole marks a sinus tract under the skin that’s in the wrong place. Most people don’t realize they have a sinus pit until they have an infection. On February 20th, Sotheara will have surgery to remove the sinus tract, and her parents need $297 to cover the cost of the procedure. After surgery, Sotheara will no longer have frequent infections or drainage from her left ear. Sotheara said, "I hope I will have no more pain, and the hole in my ear will be closed. I do not want to miss school."