This is Kokoya Leloji, an eight-year-old girl from Tanzania! Kokoya lives in a small village in Northern Tanzania. Her mother had passed away, and her father is a pastoralist who has little money to support his daughter.
“Kokoya has not been able to pass stool normally since birth,” our medical partner African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF) tells us. “This means that she experiences terrible pain and bloating.” Kokoya has a condition called Hirschprung’s disease in which there are missing nerve cells in part of her colon, making it difficult for her body to pass stool.
Kokoya’s condition has made her unable to start school or participate in normal activities of daily living. “Her grandfather brought her to the hospital and is trying to take care for her,” AMHF explains. “They are not able to afford the treatment required for her condition. Although she is sick now, her grandfather reports that she is normally a very happy child!”
“I hope for my granddaughter to be normal with this treatment,” Kokoya’s grandfather says. “Maybe she can go to school in the future.” For only $975, we can provide Kokoya with surgery to remove the affected part of her colon, allowing her to pass stool normally and develop into a healthy child!