Across the world, families face overwhelming barriers to health and survival—war, disease, displacement, and poverty. Your monthly donations help sustain life-saving healthcare for those in greatest need, not just in their worst moment, but in the difficult months that follow.
Reliable, monthly gifts go beyond providing malnourished children like Fatuma with one packet of emergency food—they give her the ongoing resources to complete her treatment for malnutrition to ensure that she is fully recovered and able to thrive.
Here is her story.
A Desperate Search for Safety
Five-year-old Fatuma and her mother once lived a simple life farming and tending sheep in their village in Ethiopia’s Afar region, but violence forced them to flee their home. What followed was a grueling journey—traveling over 60 miles on foot and by hitchhiking with whatever rides they could find. They first tried settling in another area, but had to leave again when conflict followed. Eventually, they reached a safe place, exhausted and uncertain about what lay ahead.
A Child on the Brink
The toll of displacement soon became frighteningly clear. Fatuma grew weak and desperately ill. Her body, deprived of proper nutrition, developed severe symptoms—skin rashes, heart problems, and a dangerous condition called Kwashiorkor, a form of severe malnutrition characterized by swelling and liver damage.
Her mother searched frantically for help, visiting four different health clinics, but none could provide the care her daughter needed. As Fatuma’s condition worsened, her mother began to lose hope. “I thought my kid was not going to live,” she recalled.
A Second Chance at Life
Everything changed when Fatuma’s mother found a Medical Teams clinic. Our healthcare staff immediately recognized how critical Fatuma’s situation was and provided urgent treatment—special therapeutic food, medicine, and clean water. Over the following weeks, the team monitored Fatuma closely, adjusted her care, and taught her mother how to prevent malnutrition in the future. The transformation was remarkable.
Today, Fatuma has fully recovered and is the healthy, happy child she was meant to be.
“Medical Teams is a hope for this community,” Fatuma’s mother said.
Now, she dreams of seeing her only daughter grow up healthy, go to school, and live the fulfilling life that once seemed impossible.
Monthly giving brings hope to children like Fatuma. Your generosity helps us hire local staff, maintain equipment, stock pharmacies, and walk alongside communities through crisis and long-term recovery.
Right now, all new and increased monthly gifts will be matched for the first month up to $10,000 through February 20. That means that you can provide malnourished children like Fatuma:
- 2X the emergency Ready-To-Use-Food
- 2X the antibiotics
- 2X the IVs and rehydration supplies
- 2X the on-going nutritional support and education to stop malnutrition from happening again
Join the Pulse today and have your first monthly gift DOUBLED!