Kalkidan is a ten-year-old girl from Ethiopia. She has one older brother and wants to be a police officer when she grows up. Her favorite food is spaghetti.
Kalkidan was born with birth defect called anorectal malformation that causes bowel dysfunction. Her mother, who single-handedly supports the family as a laborer, took Kalkidan to several different hospitals when she was a baby. She learned she would need to bring her daughter to a government hospital in Addis Abada to receive treatment, but she could not afford to do so.
Ten years later, Kalkidan is still living with this condition, and her family still cannot afford the corrective operation. In January, she developed a bowel obstruction and had an emergency colostomy.
“Because I couldn’t afford the transportation cost to come to Addis Ababa nine years ago, she is still suffering,” Kalkidan’s mother says. “I still can’t afford the medical bill and that frustrates me a lot.”
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,500 to cover the cost of a corrective surgery. Kalkidan is scheduled to undergo surgery at our medical partner’s care center, Bethany Kids Myungsung Christian Medical Centre, on February 21.