17-year-old Kim Leng lives in Phnom Penh with his mother, younger sister, and several members of his extended family. His mother works as a cleaner in a bank, while other members of the household help support the family by working in local service jobs. Kim Leng is a senior in high school. He hopes to attend university, and to obtain a job in marketing or sales after he has graduated. In April 2023, Kim Leng was in a motorbike accident, and injured his right leg. There was nerve damage to his right ankle, but he was unable to afford the treatment from the local trauma center. As a result, he has developed foot drop, which causes his right foot to drag whenever he walks. The foot drop - along with constant discomfort - renders Kim Leng unable to pursue his daily activities. Fortunately, our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is here to help. On December 12th, Kim Leng will undergo a tendon transfer procedure at Kien Khleang National Rehabilitation Centre, which will improve the function and mobility of his leg. Now he needs your help to fund the $572 cost of the surgery. Kim Leng shared: "I hope I can walk like before the accident and play soccer again."

Gyan is a 14 year-old student joining high school this year from Kenya. He says that he is anxious but looking forward to upgrading to secondary school. He is the firstborn in a family of three children. His siblings are 5 and 12 years old. His father is the sole breadwinner who does hawking for a living. Income from this venture is inconsistent and therefore negligible to pay for the proposed surgery that Gyan needs. Gyan was diagnosed with cryptorchidism, a condition in which one or both of the testicles remains undescended. If left untreated, Gyan has an increased risk of developing hernias, testicular cancer, and fertility problems in the future. Gyan will be receiving assistance from our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH). Fortunately, he is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on January 5th. AMH is requesting $646 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Gyan's father says: “The boy is all grown now. I hope the condition is treated to avoid complications in the future.”

Marise is a 13-year-old student, living in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with her parents and four siblings. Marise has a cardiac condition called congenital aortic valve stenosis. As a result of this condition, one of the four valves in Marise's heart is much narrower than it should be, making her heart strain to push blood through the valve. This leaves Marise weak, and unable to participate in physical activities. The care she needs is not available in Haiti so Marise will fly to the Dominican Republic, where on February 9th, she will undergo surgery at Hospital CEDIMAT, during which her valve will be repaired. While another organization is helping to support the cost of Marise's surgery, our medical partner, International Cardiac Alliance, is seeking $1,500 to cover her care costs including pre and post operative medical care, and travel expenses for Marise's family, and the social worker who will accompany them for her surgery. Marise shared: "I am looking forward to being able to stop worrying about my heart after surgery."