Ritchina is a 7-month-old baby girl from Haiti. She lives with both of her loving parents and her older brother. Ritchina has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of her condition, Ritchina has been experiencing increasing head circumference. Without treatment, Ritchina will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, Project Medishare, is requesting $897 to cover the cost of surgery for Ritchina at Hospital Bernard Mevs that will treat her hydrocephalus. This is the only site in the country where this care is currently available and the procedure is scheduled to take place on January 4th. This critical treatment will drain the excess fluid from Ritchina's brain to reduce intracranial pressure and greatly improve her quality of life. With proper treatment, Ritchina will hopefully develop into a strong, healthy young girl. Her parents are hopeful that surgery will allow their child to grow up healthy.

Yabsra is a 7-year-old student from Ethiopia. He is outgoing, intelligent, active, and excels in school and football. Yabsra is an only child and lives with his mother. She farms a small piece of land and sells tea to make ends meet but shared that her income is insufficient to meet her family’s expenses and medical bills. Yabsra was born with hypospadias, a congenital abnormality that causes urinary dysfunction and the future risk of infertility. Due to financial constraints, his mother was unable to afford surgery for Yabsra before now, which caused her great sadness and distress. She continued to visit various hospitals and learned about our medical partner. Nervous about the journey, Yabsra and his mother were able to travel with three other patients to our medical partner’s hospital. Fortunately, our medical partner is able to help Yabsra receive treatment. On February 13th, he will undergo corrective surgery. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is requesting $1,293 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Yabsra’s mom said, “I hope he will heal, become educated, and lead a good and quality life. When I ask him, ‘What do you want to be?’ the answer is a doctor. When I ask him why, he says: ‘I want to heal people who are sick.’ I wish to see that his dreams come true.”

David is a 14-year-old boy from Prey Veng province in Cambodia. As his parents work on fishing boats in Thailand, David lives with his grandmother, his older sister, her husband, and their son. David has never been to school and requires full-time care from his grandmother. David was born with severe scoliosis and has never been able to stand up or walk. Due to his condition, David is also in a lot of pain. David and his family traveled three and a half hours to visit our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, for a consultation. On March 6th, David will undergo spinal fusion surgery to straighten his bones. This procedure can relieve him of pain and prevent the condition from worsening. David and his family need your help to fund the $1,500 cost of the surgery and post-op care. David's grandmother said: "We hope he can feel better and not be in pain."