Hadassa is a seven-year-old girl from Haiti. She is the middle child in her family, with an older sister and a younger brother. She does not currently attend school but enjoys helping her parents around the house and watching cartoons. Hadassa has a cardiac condition called a partial atrioventricular canal defect. A hole exists between the chambers of her heart, causing blood to leak between them instead of properly circulating through the lungs to receive oxygen. This leaves her weak and short of breath. Hadassa also has Down syndrome. Hadassa needs to fly to the Dominican Republic to receive treatment. On June 24th, she will undergo heart surgery, during which doctors will repair the hole in her heart. Another organization is paying for the surgery, but her family also needs help with travel and surgery prep. Our medical partner, International Cardiac Alliance, is requesting $1,500 to cover labs, medicines, and check-up and follow-up appointments. It also supports securing travel documents for the family and travel costs for the social workers from our medical partner, who will accompany Hadassa's family overseas. Hadessa’s mother shares, “Our family is so happy to know that there is a way to fix our daughter’s heart, and we hope everything will go well!”

Rachel is an active and social 12-year-old girl from Kenya. Despite her challenges, she remains hopeful and optimistic about her future. Rachel is currently in Grade 7, but has paused her studies due to her medical condition. Two days after Rachel was born, her mother noticed that Rachel's head was enlarging and that her eyes appeared sunken. Rachel was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. Rachel underwent shunt insertion surgery to drain the excess fluid, but the shunt failed within days. Rachel and her mother then journeyed 130 kilometers to our medical partner's care center, BethanyKids Kijabe Hospital. There, Rachel underwent a successful shunt revision surgery, and her mother’s joy was beyond words. They returned home, and life improved significantly. Unfortunately, hydrocephalus shunts can become blocked over time, making revision surgeries necessary. Rachel has had two more surgeries at three and seven years of age. She now requires another shunt revision surgery, so that she can resume her daily activities like other children her age. Without surgery, Rachel will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $719 to cover the cost of surgery for Rachel that will treat her hydrocephalus. The procedure is scheduled to take place on February 13th and will drain the excess fluid from Rachel's brain. Rachel shares, "I am in pain, I haven't been able to go to school. I want to get better so that I can continue learning. I look forward to leaving the hospital feeling better so that I can go home, play with my siblings, and attend school."

Vichet is 18 years old and a rice farmer from Cambodia. He lives in Kompong Speu Province with his parents, who are also rice farmers. He is the youngest of four siblings. His first and second siblings are also rice farmers, while his third brother is a university student. In his free time, he enjoys playing games on his phone and helping his parents with farm work. When he was six years old, Vichet had an ear infection. This infection caused a cholesteatoma, or an abnormal skin growth, to develop in the middle ear behind the eardrum. For this reason, Vichet experiences ear pain, discharge, hearing loss, and ringing in the ear. This condition caused him to stop attending school and affects his daily communication and quality of life due to ear pain and hearing loss. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is helping Vichet receive treatment. On April 2nd, he will undergo a mastoidectomy procedure in his right ear. During this procedure, ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. His family can contribute $100, but needs help raising $377 more to fund his procedure and care. Vichet said, “I hope that after treatment, my ear pain, discharge, hearing loss, and tinnitus will get better, and that I can hear normally again.”