Meet Zabrat, a 4-month-old baby girl from Tanzania who lives with her parents and five older siblings. Zabrat was born with Hirschsprung’s disease, and as a result is unable to pass stool.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), tells us that Zabrat had a colostomy put in shortly after she was born to help her with eliminations and prevent abdominal distention, but her family is still paying off debt for that procedure.
Now, Zabrat needs a secondary surgery to close her colostomy and allow her to pass stool normally.
Zabrat’s mother earns money selling fruits and vegetables, and her father’s income is from manual work on local farms. In addition to caring for their own six children, they also care for two of Zabrat’s cousins whose mother died two years ago. AMHF shares, “with three children going to school, the little that they get is just not enough to cover the cost of operation which Zabrat badly needs.”
For $1,500, Zabrat will have a surgical pull-through procedure to eliminate her need for a colostomy bag, and allow her to pass stool on her own. With this operation Zabrat will continue to develop into a healthy young child, and not have to worry about the complications of colostomy.
“I just pray for my baby to have the ability to pass stool normally so that as she grows she can socialize with other children, go to school, and just live a normal life,” her mother adds.