Deziranta is a 48-year-old farmer. She is a mother of three daughters who are all married and working as farmers. She lost her husband in 2020 to kidney disease. Despite her early love for school, Deziranta had to drop out after completing 7th grade due to lack of school fees. Currently, she practices farming for her livelihood and occasionally works in other people's gardens where she is paid 5,000 Ugandan Shillings. She lives in a two-roomed muddy semi-permanent house in Buhunga Rukungiri District in Southwestern Uganda. Six years ago, Deziranta developed a painful swelling on her back. This swelling causes her sleepless nights as she cannot sleep on her back. She also experiences paralysis of the back and cannot lift or carry loads. Her symptoms limit her from activities she would comfortably do before, which led her to seek medical attention. Deziranta traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On February 28th, surgeons will remove the mass. Now, Deziranta needs help to raise $137 to fund this procedure. Deziranta says “I beg for your mercy for support to make my surgery possible. Without it, I won’t ever get a chance to undergo my surgery due to limited finances."

Rajai is a 13-year-old student from Tanzania. He loves science classes and enjoys playing football and racing track at school. At home, his parents and two older siblings are farmers who rely on the crop yield to support the family. When Rajai was 8 years old, he stumbled while playing with his siblings and fell, injuring his left arm. Although his parents rushed him to the hospital, the skin and fingers on his left hand were damaged. As a result, he isn't able to use his arm in most of his day-to-day activities. At school, he feels self-conscious when new people are shocked upon seeing his injury. Rajai would also like to help more around the farm at home, but feels that his hand limits him. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Rajai with treatment. On March 9th, surgeons at their care center will perform a burn contracture release surgery to help him use his hand freely again. Now, he needs help to fund this $832 procedure. Rajai says, “I am hopeful that this treatment will increase my confidence around new people.”

Mervi is an adventurous toddler from Venezuela who has recently moved with his parents to Colombia to seek better opportunities. Due to lack of work authorization, his mother stays home with her family while his father has informal employment in construction. Mervi has three siblings, but his little sister is his favorite. She is almost one year old and he loves playing with her and sharing their toys. Mervi has clubfoot in his right foot, a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and even wearing shoes. Mervi's family traveled to visit our medical partner, Clínica Noel, where surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on Mervi on April 30th. Clínica Noel is requesting $1,422 to fund this procedure. After treatment, Mervi will be able to wear shoes and walk normally without pain. His father said: "I would really appreciate if you could help me with this operation for my kid, I'm working to find someone else that can help me pay at least a part of the treatment but I would really appreciate you helping me pay the surgery."