Life-saving Medicines for Cristofer and Blanca

Cristofer’s coughing wouldn’t stop.

It shook his small body through the night, stealing his breath and his sleep. By morning, his fever was high, his chest tight. When his sister Blanca began coughing too, their mother Gladys understood what that meant. Without treatment, a chest infection in a young child can turn into pneumonia fast.

The government hospital was far away. Taking two sick children there would mean a long journey, crowded waiting rooms, and a prescription she already knew she could not afford to fill.

“I didn’t know what else to do,” Gladys said.

When a neighbor stopped by and saw little Cristofer burning with fever and his sister Blanca struggling to breathe, she sprang into action.

“I took them straight to Dr. Layla. She grew up in our neighborhood and helps the people here,” she said.

Dr. Layla examined the children, recognized the infection and provided Gladys with the antibiotics her children needed.

Within days, Cristofer and Blanca’s coughs eased and they began to recover. For Gladys, watching her children’s fevers break and their breathing return to normal brought a deep sense of relief and gratitude.

In developing countries where medicines are scarce and unaffordable to many, common illnesses can quickly become life threatening emergencies, especially for children. Thanks to donors like you, rural hospitals and clinics are able to provide critical medicines when they are needed most.