Kanchana is a happy four-year-old. She lives with her parents in Kandal province; her mother is a teacher and her father is a chef in a local restaurant. She has just started to attend school and is excited to learn about Khmer subjects. At home, she likes to draw pictures, and have fried pork, soup, and milk for meals. Kanchana has strabismus in both eyes. Strabismus is a misalignment of the eye caused by injury or dysfunction in the associated nerves and muscles. Kanchana's eyes turn outward and it is difficult for her to focus. She often complains of headaches. If this condition is left untreated, her eye may face outwards continually, and she could lose her ability to see with both eyes. Kanchana will have much more difficulty with large amounts of reading and writing as she gets older. Kanchana traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On March 2nd, surgeons at our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), will perform a corrective procedure to align her eyes. Now, Kanchana needs help to raise $331 to fund this procedure. Kanchana's mother said: "I hope her eye looks like other kids after this surgery."

Wideline is a 27 year old woman from Haiti. She lives in Port-au-Prince with her sister and her sister's family. She has not been working because of her illness, but would like to return to school to study business once she is able. Wideline has a cardiac condition called atrial septal defect and ventricular septal defect. Wideline was born with two holes in her heart, one between the upper chambers and another between the lower chambers. Blood leaks through these holes without passing through the lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving her weak and short of breath. It is extremely rare for someone to live to Wideline's age with this untreated condition. Because the care that she needs is not available in Haiti, Wideline will fly to the United States to receive treatment. On March 1st, she will undergo cardiac surgery, during which doctors will use patches to close the holes so that blood can no longer leak through them. Another organization, Baylor Scott and White Heart Hospital, is contributing $15,000 to help pay for surgery. Wideline's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep and travel. The $1,500 bill covers labs, medicines, and checkup and followup appointments. It also supports passport obtainment and the social workers from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Wideline overseas. Wideline shared: "I am so excited to finally be able to live a more normal life!"

Benedister is a 45-year-old single mother and small-scale farmer from Kenya. She plants maize and millet for her family's consumption and for sale. Benedister has seven children between 11 and 23 years old. When she is done with her farm work, Benedister always looks for casual jobs in order to earn extra wages. She is very hardworking, as she is her family’s sole breadwinner. One day, while walking around her compound, Benedister fell and injured her right lower limb. She was unable to walk, so she was carried by some of her relatives to the hospital. Her pain was so intense that she was given some pain medication, then sent for an x-ray. The x-ray revealed that she had a bimalleolar fracture with a joint dislocation, which means that in addition to a bone being broken, the ligaments on the inside of her ankle were injured as well. She was treated, and then her ankle was immobilized with a bulky jones splint. She is not able to walk on her own and is in a lot of pain. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On February 7th, Benedister will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. Afterward, she will be able to walk easily again. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,145 to fund this procedure. Benedister says, “It’s really sad that I cannot walk without support. My children look up to me for all their needs and here I am now with a broken leg and cannot offer any help to them. Please help me get my bones fixed so that I will be able to work and live normally as before.”