Meet five-year-old Lilian from Tanzania. “Lilian is a happy and active little girl. She likes to run around with other children and enjoys carrying a big doll on her back, as well as feeding her doll with mud,” says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “Lilian’s mother is a widow, but she works hard to take care of her children. She does farm work and road construction when there are projects going on. Three of her children are going to school, and she hopes that all of her children will.”
“Lilian is unable to breathe well through the nostrils due to enlarged tonsils and adenoids. When she sleeps at night, she sometimes suddenly wakes up gasping for air,” reports AMHF. “There are times when she also loses her voice. The way Lilian breathes bothers her mother very much.”
For $545, Lilian can receive a tonsillectomy to surgically remove her tonsils, two oval-shaped pads of tissue at the back of her throat. This cost covers a three-day hospital stay, consultation, surgery, lab work, and medication. “Lilian will be able to breathe well through her nose and she will sleep well at night,” explains AMHF.
“I pray that my daughter will get well,” Lilian’s mother shares. “I will work hard to take her to school in the near future so that later on she can get a good job and if possible, even help me.”