This nine-month-old girl is Hanisha. She is an only child and lives with her parents in Tanzania. “Hanisha is a quiet baby and eats well. She especially likes ugali with buttermilk,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “She likes being held in a certain way, if held differently she cries.”
Shortly after birth she was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition that causes a buildup of cranial fluid in the skull and causes the head to swell, but also affects her vision and mobility.
AMHF shares that Hanisha’s head is gradually increasing in size and affecting her mobility. “If not treated, Hanisha is at high risk of losing her vision and ability to sit, crawl and eventually walk.”
“Hanisha’s mother used to be a waitress before conceiving and now she is unemployed,” AMHF adds. “Hanisha’s father is a tailor earning very little to afford the cost of operation which Hanisha needs.”
For $775, Hanisha will undergo surgery to remove the excess fluid from her skull and alleviate the pressure on her brain. This operation will alleviate the stress on her vision and prevent her head from increasing in size so that she can regain her mobility, and independence.