Building a healthier world, together.

At Watsi, we know that we can’t make healthcare a reality for everyone by ourselves, but we believe that by bringing people together and making the world a little smaller, we’ll be able to do the most good for patients. Each day we strive to bring our global community closer together to drive transformational change in people’s lives and in the way healthcare is accessed by those most in need.

Being able to share stories like this one about two brothers who underwent life-changing surgeries makes us realize how far we’ve come and affirms our vision that together we can solve big problems and build a healthier world.

Last month, a family in Kenya was able to celebrate their sons’ successful surgeries with support from the Watsi community, which only a few days earlier was a distant dream because of their financial situation. Their mother could not hold back her emotions of joy and relief as she shared:

"I have been to so many hospitals. I lost hope. I lost myself. I started worrying about their future. But now there is a new hope within the family that [my sons] could have a normal life.”

Her two sons are Onesmus and Brimin. Playful Onesmus is almost five years old and has recently started school, while his cheerful, three-year-old brother Brimin is in pre-kindergarten. Both boys were born with a birth condition that causes uncomfortable symptoms and increases their risk of complications, stigma, and infertility later in life. Thinking about her sons’ future and the obstacles they would face, their mother shared that her biggest hope is to see them well and “grow up like other children”.

Onesmus and Brimin’s father works as a public transit driver to provide for their family, while their mother earns wages from a small grocery business. They also have one other sibling and their family of five currently lives in a two-roomed, iron-built rental house.

A quick Google search reveals a National Institutes of Health (NIH) article noting that corrective surgery for their birth condition is best timed between 6 to 18 months of age. However, the brothers and their family faced many barriers that delayed their treatment, of which money was a main concern.

Everything changed ✨ when they met Watsi and our local medical partner, African Mission Healthcare. Both brothers were able to receive life-changing surgery from the medical team at AIC Kapsowar Hospital and are recovering well. They’ll each have one more surgery and then can go on to have full, healthy lives ahead. With their treatment finally underway, Onesumus and Brimin’s mother joyfully shared with us, “My sons are doing very well with no issues. I have overcome all tensions and worries which I had in the past.”

Brimin’s procedure was made possible by Watsi supporters from the ZoomRx community, and Onesumus’s treatment was funded by 11 other donors from around the world. With the cost of treatment for their care fully funded, their family is relieved of a critical financial burden and was able to avoid further sinking into the health-poverty cycle.

ZoomRx is one of Watsi’s earliest corporate partners that has now impacted the lives of over 300 patients since 2013. For Brimin’s procedure, ZoomRx generously donated $631 with the hope that after a full recovery, the young boy could have a full shot at a brighter future with more possibilities than before.

Onesumus brought the Watsi community together to support his case. 11 donors raised a total of $631 to cover his surgery and care, including a Watsi supporter from Singapore who gave $348 as the final donation to help fully fund his treatment. This donor shared with us:

"I came across his pic on a post on social media and felt that I should help him. A kid his age should be out enjoying life with their friends and family and not have to worry about their health. I donated enough to close his case off so that we can all move along and progress to better things in the future. Onesmus has such a lovely smile and you can sense that he is a happy, cheeky little boy. Hopefully, he can move on now and have a good crack at life. He definitely deserves it after keeping a smile on his face from all that he has been through.”

With Watsi, donations big and small, from both companies and individuals, have a significant and lasting impact on people’s lives. All of us have a meaningful role to play in helping others and we’re so grateful that our community shows up everyday to help build a world where healthcare is a reality for everyone. You can join in today to help another family in need.