Sophea is an 18-year-old student from Cambodia. She lives at home with her parents and two siblings. Her dad is a rice farmer and her mom cares for the children at home. Sophea spends most of her free time reading and studying. She enjoys spending time with her family and going to school. Sophea was born with club feet, a condition in which the feet are turned in and under, making it difficult to walk and balance. Currently, Sophea uses a wheelchair to help her get around. Sophea's family traveled an hour and a half to visit our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), so she could undergo clubfoot treatment. On February 15th, surgeons will perform bilateral tendon Achilles lengthening (TAL) and casting. Surgery and physiotherapy will improve her mobility. The procedure will cost $572. Sophea said, “I hope I will look better after surgery and walk someday.”

Joyline is a 14-year-old student at a primary school in Kenya, where she lives with her parents and two younger siblings. Her parents are small-scale farmers who plant potatoes and beans, mainly for home consumption, with some sold for an income. They live in a home without electricity, using firewood as their source of heat, while getting their water from a nearby river. Joyline reported that she started feeling pain in her leg in November of last year. Her parents brought her to two different facilities, where the only treatment provided was pain medication. Walking has become difficult to the point she had to stop going to school and is unable to walk on her own. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, can help. On May 9th, Joyline will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation, at AIC Kapsowar Hospital. The treatment will repair her fractured femur, and enable her to live a pain-free life. Now, African Mission Healthcare Foundation is requesting $1,145 to fund this procedure. Joyline says: "I feel so much pain, and the worst of it all is that I cannot walk. I am so uncomfortable when I see my mother helping me do things that I could do on my own. Kindly help me so that I may be able to go back to school and study well, as this is my final year in primary school."

Christian is a two year old toddler, living with his parents in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. He is a happy and playful child, who particularly enjoys listening to music. Christian has a cardiac condition called severe coarctation of the aorta. As a result of this condition, there is a narrowing in the major blood vessel leading from his heart, which causes his heart to strain too hard to push blood through it. The care he needs is not available anywhere in the country, so Christian needs to travel to the Cayman Islands to receive treatment. On April 4th, he will undergo open heart surgery, during which doctors will rebuild his aorta, restoring it to a more normal size. Another organization, Have a Heart Cayman, is contributing $16,000 to pay for this procedure. However, Christian's family also needs help to fund the $1,500 to cover the costs of pre-surgery prep, lab tests, medicines, and follow up appointments. This money will also pay for passport obtainment, and the social workers from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Christian's family overseas. Christian's mother said: "Our family is hopeful that everything will go well with our son's surgery, and that he will have a safe and smooth recovery."