“Neema would like to be a nurse when she grows up,” says her mother. “She already plays and pretends that she is one, looking after her family and friends.”
Neema is a five-year-old girl from Tanzania who is the second and last born to her parents. She has started kindergarten in the local village but has poor attendance due to enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which often make her feel sick and fatigued. Neema also has problems eating and sleeping properly due to the swelling, although she is still a happy girl who likes to play with her peers.
Neema’s parents get by on the income they receive from a small farm that they have. Her father looks after the farm and her mother is a housewife, and the family’s income is not enough to obtain treatment for their daughter’s enlarged adenoids.
For $488, doctors will perform an adenoidectomy to surgically remove Neema’s adenoids, eliminating the pain and sickness that they currently cause her. It is expected that with this corrective surgery, Neema will heal fully and be able to grow better and be a healthier child overall.