Praise is a 9 years old girl from Kenya. She is the second-born in a family of three siblings. She is in grade four in a public primary school within the locality. Her mother is the third born in a family of five children. She said that she left school in class eight, didn’t proceed for secondary education due to financial instability in the family. Her dad also left primary school for the same reason.
Her mother has a small kiosk within the outskirts of Maua town in Meru County where she sells all kinds of foodstuff. The income from the kiosk helps to pay school fees for her children. Her father is a bodaboda taxi operator within the town and he supports his family with whatever he gets. They live in a rented two-roomed timber house. The parents migrated from rural to urban areas for better living standards. They left a piece of land but still go to the farm where they plant maize and beans for home use.
Priase’s condition started months ago as a small mass on her head which kept increasing in size. She was taken to Nyambene sub-county hospital where she was referred to Maua Methodist hospital. In our partner facility, she presented with a midline scalp mass for the past four years. She was sent to a Imaging Centre in Meru Town for a scan which gave the surgeon a plan for the surgery. The treatment is curative, and failure to treat it will continue to be symptomatic and may indicate malignancy. During the interview, her mother said she has been frustrated by national health insurance fund, which she thought could help but will not cover the cost of this treatment.
On November 30, surgeons will remove the mass. Now, Praise and her family need help to raise $529 to fund this procedure.
Praise mother says, “Kindly help my daughter to undergo the treatment.”