Helen is an eight-year-old girl from Colombia. She is currently in the 3rd grade, and enjoys participating in school activities, and reading stories. Helen dreams of becoming a doctor one day. Helen has an inguinal hernia, a condition that occurs when abdominal tissue protrudes through a weak spot in the lower abdominal muscles. The condition makes it painful for her to play, and limits activities that require physical strength. She sometimes experiences discomfort or tenderness in the affected area. Fortunately, on April 16th, our medical partner, Clínica Noel, will perform Helen's hernia repair surgery to help her live a healthier life. Helen's family is unable to raise the required treatment costs, and are seeking support to raise $786 to fund her surgery and care. Helen's mom said, "I am deeply grateful to all the kind and generous-hearted people who are supporting my daughter's treatment. Thank you very much in advance. Your support not only addresses a medical need, but also fills our hearts with hope."

Christie is a four-year-old girl from Haiti, who lives with her parents and two older siblings in a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. She is in preschool, and is learning to read. She loves dressing up and playing with her friends. Christie has a cardiac condition called patent ductus arteriosus. A hole exists between two major blood vessels next to her heart; blood leaks through this hole, leaving her weak and short of breath. Christie will fly to the Dominican Republic to receive treatment. On May 13th, she will undergo cardiac surgery, during which doctors will use a device on the end of a catheter to plug the hole so that blood can no longer leak through it. Another organization, International Cardiac Alliance, is contributing $4,000 to pay for surgery. Christie's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep. Our medical partner, International Cardiac Alliance, is requesting $1,500 to cover labs, medicines, and check-up and follow-up appointments. It also supports securing travel documents for the family and travel costs for the social workers from our medical partner, who will accompany Christie's family overseas. Christie's mother says: "Our family is so thankful that our daughter has this chance to travel and to get her heart healed!"

Vichet is 18 years old and a rice farmer from Cambodia. He lives in Kompong Speu Province with his parents, who are also rice farmers. He is the youngest of four siblings. His first and second siblings are also rice farmers, while his third brother is a university student. In his free time, he enjoys playing games on his phone and helping his parents with farm work. When he was six years old, Vichet had an ear infection. This infection caused a cholesteatoma, or an abnormal skin growth, to develop in the middle ear behind the eardrum. For this reason, Vichet experiences ear pain, discharge, hearing loss, and ringing in the ear. This condition caused him to stop attending school and affects his daily communication and quality of life due to ear pain and hearing loss. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is helping Vichet receive treatment. On April 2nd, he will undergo a mastoidectomy procedure in his right ear. During this procedure, ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. His family can contribute $100, but needs help raising $377 more to fund his procedure and care. Vichet said, “I hope that after treatment, my ear pain, discharge, hearing loss, and tinnitus will get better, and that I can hear normally again.”