Three-month-old Kiiza lives with his parents and seven older siblings in Uganda. As casual laborers, his parents work in other peoples’ gardens to make money to support their family. They work especially hard to pay for their children’s education, and fortunately have some help from a friend who pays for one of their daughter’s high school fees.
When Kiiza was one-month-old, his mother noticed a swelling in his right scrotum. She took him to a health center where he was diagnosed with an inguinal hernia– a protrusion of a portion of intestine through a tear in the abdominal wall near the groin area. Doctors also discovered a congenital right hydrocele. Though this build-up of watery fluid near the testicle is typically painless, Kiiza’s hernia causes him to cry a lot when he is in pain.
Kiiza needs surgery to treat these two conditions. His brother also has a hernia, and unfortunately Kiiza’s parents’ income is not enough to support either of their medical costs. Without treatment, Kiiza is at risk of a hernia strangulation, where the protruded section of intestinal tissue may lose blood flow. “I am worried about the life of my children,” shares Kiiza’s mother.
$249 will fund Kiiza’s operation, where doctors will surgically reposition the protruded intestinal tissue back into place, and repair the tear near his groin. They will also drain the fluid from his hydrocele.
After surgery, Kiiza will return to a healthy, happy childhood back home with his family. His mother hopes to have peace of mind and have time to work and produce food for her children.