Nancy is a 20-month-old baby girl who lives with her parents in a remote village in Kenya. Nancy’s mother is a housewife, and her father sells khat to sustain the needs of the young family.
Nancy was born with a small anal opening. During the first six months of her life, while she was only feeding on breast milk, she did not have trouble passing stool. When she started eating solid foods, she began to have a difficult time passing stool, and her stomach started to swell. Nancy was taken to several hospitals by her parents, and eventually, she had a colostomy done to create an opening on her upper abdomen for passing stool. Her parents were able to pay for the surgery through financial contributions from friends and family, but as time passed, it became more and more expensive for them to cater to their child’s medical expenses.
To prevent infections, Nancy’s parents must keep the area around the colostomy clean. “This is really hard for us—very hard,” says Nancy’s father. Keeping the area clean has also been expensive, making it more difficult for the family to raise the funds required for the next phase of Nancy’s medical care.
Now, Nancy needs a pull-through surgery—an anorectoplasty—to create an anal opening through which she can pass stool normally. $1,260 pays for the surgery, and Nancy’s parents are contributing $21 to cover additional costs associated with her care.
“Please help my daughter get treated, as we have exhausted funds in trying to get her treated,” shares Nancy’s father. “My prayer is to have her treated. I really understand her condition, and I am desperate to make life easier for her.”
