Mervi is an adventurous toddler from Venezuela who has recently moved with his parents to Colombia to seek better opportunities. Due to lack of work authorization, his mother stays home with her family while his father has informal employment in construction. Mervi has three siblings, but his little sister is his favorite. She is almost one year old and he loves playing with her and sharing their toys. Mervi has clubfoot in his right foot, a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and even wearing shoes. Mervi's family traveled to visit our medical partner, Clínica Noel, where surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on Mervi on April 30th. Clínica Noel is requesting $1,422 to fund this procedure. After treatment, Mervi will be able to wear shoes and walk normally without pain. His father said: "I would really appreciate if you could help me with this operation for my kid, I'm working to find someone else that can help me pay at least a part of the treatment but I would really appreciate you helping me pay the surgery."

Elias is a 10-month-old baby boy from Kenya, and the first child born in his family. Elias and his parents live in their ancestral home and rely on his grandparents for support, as his mother is a homemaker and his father is still in college. Elias has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of his condition, Elias has been living with an increasing head circumference since the age of four months. Without treatment, he may experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $720 to cover the cost of surgery to treat Elias' hydrocephalus. The procedure, which will drain excess fluid from Elias' brain and reduce the intracranial pressure, is scheduled to take place on February 22nd at BethanyKids Kijabe Hospital. With proper treatment, Elias should be able to develop into a strong and healthy young boy. Elias’ mother says: “I am really feeling bad because I have no way of helping him.”

Minea is a 10-year-old student from Cambodia. She is a bright and ambitious 5th grader whose favorite subject is math. Her dream is to attend university to become an accountant. In her free time, she loves eating pork fried rice and reading books. At home, she lives with her grandparents while her parents work 2.5 hours away in a factory. When Minea was 2 years old, she got an electrical burn on her left hand, causing tightening of the skin on her fingers, making it difficult to use her left hand. She feels embarrassed and wants to be able to play sports and use both hands. When Minea and her family learned about our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), they traveled for two and a half hours seeking treatment. On February 22nd, surgeons at CSC will perform a burn contracture release surgery to improve the function of her hand. Now, her family needs help funding this $487 procedure. After surgery, she and her family hope that she can move her fingers easily.