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A masked TotalCare volunteer in a red shirt reads a medication chart beside stacked supply boxes in a classroom set up as a camp pharmacy.

Meet the children who need your help

Every Heart Has a Story.

Behind every heart condition is a child who wants to run, play, learn and dream.And behind every child is a family hoping someone will help them find a way forward.Your generosity helps turn fear into hope.

Help save a child’s heart (opens in a new tab)Read their stories

Their stories

The children

Desmond

Age 13

Desmond sits cross-legged on a sofa upholstered in a yellow and navy pattern, wearing a dark navy football shirt with white trim, one arm stretched along the back of the seat. A folded pink and blue blanket lies beside him, a wooden table stands at the edge of the frame, and a painted wall rises behind.
StatusSurgery Funded

Desmond Should Be Preparing for His Exams. Instead, He’s Waiting for Heart Surgery.

Desmond is 13 years old.

This should be a year filled with school, friends, and preparing for his national exams.

Instead, he has not been able to attend school since the beginning of the year because he is simply too weak.

Desmond lives with a serious congenital heart condition and is already due for surgery. He vomits daily, struggles with weakness, and spent three weeks hospitalized in July.

His mother is the family’s breadwinner, roasting maize and earning about KES 200 ($1.55 USD) per day.

There is no realistic way for her to afford the surgery her son needs.

And time matters.

Desmond is at risk of missing his national exams—not because he isn’t prepared or capable, but because his heart is preventing him from even being in the classroom.

His case is urgent, and there is an opportunity to move quickly with his surgical planning.

Next: Adrian →

Adrian

Age 4

Adrian stands against a plastered wall beneath a wooden window shutter, wearing a grey hooded sweatshirt printed with a patterned map of Africa, bright yellow tracksuit trousers and oversized grey shoes. A blue plastic basket holding a yellow bowl stands on the earth floor at the edge of the frame.
StatusSurgery Funded

Adrian Wants to Go to School. His Heart Is Holding Him Back.

At four years old, Adrian should be running, playing, and getting ready for school.

Instead, even simple activity leaves him weak and short of breath.

Adrian lives with his mother and stepfather, who both work as casual laborers. Their household income is limited, and the cost of transportation alone to one clinic visit can take up nearly half of what the family earns in a month.

Because of his congenital heart condition, Adrian has experienced stagnant growth, difficulty breathing, seizures, and weakness that makes walking long distances nearly impossible.

He wants to start school.

His family wants that future for him too.

Right now, Adrian needs an urgent cardiology review, transportation support, and a clear path toward the care his heart requires.

Next: Princess →

Princess

Age 3

Princess walks towards the camera, smiling, in a green short-sleeved top with red trim at the collar and cuffs and a thin beaded necklace, pink trousers, and bare feet on a swept earth floor. An earth wall stands behind her.
StatusNeeds Funding

Princess Should Be Playing Without Getting Tired.

Princess is three years old.

She is quiet, sweet, and still tries to play—but her heart condition makes even normal childhood activity exhausting. She gets tired quickly, sweats heavily with activity, and cannot run or play for long.

She has not yet started school because of her health.

Princess lives with her parents and three siblings in a two-room home. Her father works as a boda rider, earning about KES 300 ($2.32 USD) a day when work is available, while her mother stays home to care for the family. Their income is inconsistent, and the cost of surgery feels completely out of reach.

Her parents want treatment for their daughter, but fear and misinformation have made the process even harder. They have worried that surgery could leave them with debts so large they might lose the little land they own.

Princess now needs continued cardiology evaluation, support navigating her treatment plan, transportation assistance, and help overcoming the financial barriers standing between her and surgery.

Next: Kelly Ann →

Kelly Ann

Age 2

Kelly Ann is carried by a woman in a blue T-shirt and a dark floral bonnet, one small hand holding the front of the woman’s shirt. She wears a red and white striped shirt and looks off to one side; behind them stand an earth-and-timber wall and an orange curtain.
StatusNeeds Funding

A New Diagnosis in the Middle of an Already Difficult Season.

Kelly Ann is only two years old.

This year, her family learned that she has a congenital heart condition. An echocardiogram confirmed the diagnosis, and doctors have recommended surgery.

Her family simply cannot afford it.

Kelly Ann is weak, struggles to breathe, and is not growing as she should.

She currently lives with her maternal grandmother while her 22-year-old mother continues college. Her father works as a casual mason, but his income is inconsistent.

And when our team visited the family, they were carrying another kind of pain—the recent loss of Kelly Ann’s grandfather.

In the middle of grief, they are also trying to understand how they will save their little girl’s life.

Kelly Ann now needs a surgical cost estimate, continued medical support, and a family surrounding her that knows they are not walking this road alone.

Next: Lorna →

Lorna

Age 11

Lorna poses on a lawn in a cream sleeveless dress with a lace hem, long braids falling past her shoulders, one hand raised behind her head and one foot kicked up behind her, light blue clogs on her feet. A brick wall and a green shrub stand behind her.
StatusNeeds Funding

Lorna Has Already Lost Her Mother. Her Family Is Fighting Not to Lose Her Future Too.

Lorna is 11 years old and needs heart surgery.

Her family has already walked through years of hardship.

Lorna’s mother died in 2021 after battling cancer. The cost of her treatment placed a significant financial burden on the family, and today Lorna’s father is the sole breadwinner.

Now he is facing another medical crisis.

Lorna has been diagnosed with congenital heart disease requiring surgery. Her family was previously told the procedure could require treatment in India at an estimated cost of KES 3 million ($23,179 USD) — an amount far beyond what they could ever raise on their own.

She now needs re-evaluation at Tenwek so doctors can confirm the best surgical plan and determine the cost of care.

Her father has already endured the loss of his wife.

He should not have to face the possibility of losing his daughter simply because the treatment she needs is financially out of reach.

Next: Gianna →

Gianna

Age 2

Gianna is held by a woman in a red polo shirt and dark jacket, wearing a padded yellow vest with blue trim over a red and white striped top, her gaze turned to one side. Behind them, a cloth printed with farm scenes hangs against a wall covered in a small floral print.
StatusNeeds Funding

Her Medicine Helps Keep Her Stable. Her Family Can’t Even Keep It Cold.

Gianna is two years old and living with both congenital heart disease and Down Syndrome.

She is part of a family of six. Her father works as a watchman and is currently the family’s primary source of income. Her mother stays home to care for the family while trying small businesses, including poultry and selling trees, to help make ends meet.

Gianna’s family is committed to her care and consistently keeps her clinic appointments.

But one simple medical instruction has become an enormous challenge:

Her medication needs refrigeration.

The family does not own a refrigerator.

As a result, medication goes bad, creating approximately KES 4,000 ($30 USD) in wasted medicine every month—an expense the family can barely absorb.

Gianna now needs further evaluation at Tenwek and continued support as her family works tirelessly to give her the care she deserves.

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How to help

Help complete a child’s journey of care.

Our goal

2+ lifesaving heart surgeries every month.

TotalCare Foundation helps walk children through the entire journey of care: screening, diagnosis, transportation, surgery, caregiver housing, recovery and follow-up.

Help save a child’s heart (opens in a new tab)
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