Three-year-old Sitotaw lives with his family in Ethiopia and loves watching animated movies. He is a generous boy and likes to share his belongings with other children.
“Sitotaw was born with congenital anomaly called bladder exstrophy,” our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), tells us. “His bladder is exposed to air and leaks urine directly outside his abdomen.” Bladder exstrophy is a rare birth defect, occurring in approximately three out of every 100,000 live births. The condition is slightly more common in males than in females.
Sitotaw needs surgery to repair his bladder, bladder neck, and urethra to enable normal urination. “Sitotaw’s bladder is exposed to dirt,” explains AMHF, and without treatment, this exposure “will cause infections and direct injury.”
Sitotaw’s father works in horticulture industry but does not earn enough money to pay for his son’s medical care. $1,500 pays for surgery for Sitotaw as well as imaging, lab work, and medicine as he recovers in the hospital.
After surgery, “Sitotaw will no longer be at risk of infection and direct injury to his bladder,” says AMHF.
“I always wait for God’s provision to see my child’s problem get solved,” shares Sitotaw’s father. “And now, I believe this is the time for that provision, and I am so thankful for that.”