Amina is a kindergartener from Tanzania who needs $550 so she can move her arm freely.

Click Amina’s picture to head on over the the Watsi site

AMINA’S STORY

“It is our hope that Amina can get the help that she needs in order to be able to use her arm again,” says Amina’s mother.

Meet Amina, a five-year-old girl from Tanzania who has burns on her left armpit, chest, and back. The burns have created muscle contractures, which shorten the muscles and prevent muscle movement. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), reports, “Amina is unable to lift her left arm up.”

Amina is a friendly and active kindergartener. “Although she is soft spoken, she can clearly explain herself and enjoys learning ABC’s, counting numbers, and singing,” continues AMHF. One night, while playing with her brother, Amina accidentally got too close to the open fire in their family’s kitchen and her sleeve caught on fire. “Amina suffered severe burns, especially under her armpit and part of the chest and her back. She was treated for some months and many wounds healed, but Amina remained with a contracture on her armpit,” relays AMHF.

“Amina’s parents are small scale farmers. They spent a lot of money on medical bills treating their daughter’s wounds and now they cannot afford the cost of operation which she badly needs,” says AMHF.

For $550, we can fund a single contracture release, which will heal her burns and bring mobility back to her left arm. AMHF concludes, “Amina will be able to raise her arm up and freely move it in all directions, allowing her to perform various activities efficiently.” Let’s help her out!

As always, if you enter the Watsi site through https://watsi.org/welcome/within-biking-distance/within-biking-distance your donation will be tracked in our campaign. If not, that’s cool too. We just want you folks to help folks.

Also, holy smokes guys, we hit the road in less than a month. I’ve been busy doing my Master Gardener volunteer hours and building a rat-environment for Beef. I’ll probably write more about that in another post.

Anyways, have a great weekend everybody!
-Lizzy

new & improved!

So, it’s been kind of a nutty few weeks trying to get prepared for this insane bike ride. There still seems like there are a million little details to tie up, but (un)thankfully, one thing I’m really good at  is procrastinating. So as my to-do list grew, I decided to look the other way and revamp the Within Biking Distance website instead (as you may have noticed). Anyways, it looks pretty sleek now and will provide a stark contrast from our dirty smelly faces when we roll into a town and start talking to folks about Watsi.

So, I encourage you to poke around the new site, and tell me what ya think. Also, if something is acting goofy, let us know, and we’ll fix it to the best of our ability. Which isn’t much, but, eh, we try.

-Lizzy

I’d like to introduce you all to our patient of the week, Julius! Julius is a farmer from Kenya who needs $1,125 so he can walk again.

Click on Julius’s picture to view his profile on Watsi and fund his treatment!

He’s a 53-year-old male widower from Kenya with three children who are in school.

“Julius had been doing his normal work as a farmer, to tend for his children, until two weeks ago when he fell and sustained fracture of the right leg,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “Since then, he has been experiencing a lot of pain and has been unable to move around.” If left untreated, Julius will continue to be in pain, be unable to use his leg, and may suffer from delayed healing and malunion, where the bone heals in a deformed position. His extended family cannot assist him and his income is not enough to afford this surgery.

For $1,125, AMHF will be able to provide Julius with an ORIF, or open reduction and internal fixation surgery, to fix his broken bones. With this surgery, it is expected that the bones will heal correctly and Julius will be able to use his leg again. Julius says, ‘‘I want to appreciate Watsi in advance. I hope Watsi will help me so that I can continue taking care of my children, I am their only hope!” Let’s work together to help Julius!

-Info straight from the Watsi site

As always, if you enter the Watsi site through https://watsi.org/welcome/within-biking-distance/within-biking-distance your donation will be tracked in our campaign. If not, that’s cool too. We just want you folks to help folks.

Anyways, just a little over a month before we hit the road! Very exciting! (If you saw our post about starting the trip yesterday, don’t be alarmed.We was just pranking you guys for April Fool’s Day. Sorry if we fooled ya!)

-Lizzy

Starting right now, we are going to be featuring a patient-in-need-a-week on our website and such. The people you’ll be seeing here are real people, with real stories, and a real need for medical treatment. We encourage you to have a look at these patient profiles and feel that human connection that bridges any physical distance. Because, you see, that’s pretty much what we are all about with Within Biking Distance. With enough commitment, anywhere can be within biking distance, and likewise, with enough love, anyone can be within caring distance.

Sorry to get all mushy on you, but I’m just calling it like I sees it.

Anyways! To start things off, I’d like to introduce you to baby John. John is a newborn baby boy from Kenya who needs $805 to treat spina bifida. I’ll let you read his story over on the Watsi site:

Say hello to John! Click his picture to read his story.

As always, if you enter the Watsi site through our campaign page, your donation will be tracked as part of our cause. If not, that’s cool too. We just want you folks to help folks.

-Lizzy