Adere is a nice thirteen year old boy who loves to go to school and study. He is in grade six and loves music. He spends his free time listening to country music and also loves to dance with his friends. His parents are farmers of teff and maize. But their harvest from their farm is very limited because of the hot and dry landscape. The population in the area is mostly supported by the government and NGOs for food and other basic needs. His parents have 12 children. Three of them are dependently living and the rest of the children are supported by their parents. Adere was born with congenital anomaly called Bladder Exstrophy. The child’s bladder is open to the air and not within the body. He leaks urine directly to his abdomen. As a result, he has bladder exposed to dirt which can cause infections and injury. Adere suffers from pain from irritation of the bladder, infection, and a bad smell from the continuous urinary leakage for the past years. In his classroom, he sits far from other students in the back alone. He mostly prefers to be alone, psychologically affected by the bad smell. His parents are always very worried and concerned because of his condition. They took him to a clinic in their area when he was a child, and the clinic told them this has to be treated in referral hospital. Their village is very rural that they couldn’t get to a hospital and the parents couldn’t bring him to the capital. Adere's brother said, “I believe he will have a normal life, free from any smell and psychological concerns.”

Jayden is a young boy from Kenya. Jayden is the first born of two children. He lives with his mother and younger sister in a two-room house in Nairobi. Jayden’s mother hawks earrings to sustain her needs and those of her two children. His father on the other hand left them a while back when Jayden’s mother lost a well-paying job. Jayden was diagnosed with cryptorchidism, a condition in which one or both of the testicles remains undescended. If left untreated, Jayden has an increased risk of developing hernias, testicular cancer, and fertility problems in the future. Jayden will be receiving assistance from our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Fortunately, he is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on November 28th. AMHF is requesting $535 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. “I want to be a doctor when I grow up,” says Jayden.

Heang is a 66-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. He has four daughters, one son, and four grandchildren. When he comes home from working on the farm, he enjoys listening to the monks pray on the radio. Two years ago, Heang developed a cataract in his right eye, causing him burry vision. He has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, and going anywhere outside. When Heang learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for four and a half hours seeking treatment. On February 10th, doctors will perform a phacoemulsification surgery and an intraocular lens implant in his right eye. After recovery, he will be able to see clearly. Now, he needs help to fund this $229 procedure. “I hope I will be able to see clearly again and can go outside on my own.”