Friday, June 11, 2010

A Child Named Achile

This is Achile:



Since the moment I saw his face I have been fighting the urge to jump on the next plane to Burkina Faso just so I can hug him.

I'm afraid that if I was wealthy my whole life would be spent flying all over the world to hold babies and hug children.

But this sweet eight year old boy, Achile, who I am sure would appreciate a hug, needs something that I cannot give him.

You see, Achile has a broken heart, and it needs to be fixed.

Achile is suffering from a heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot. Over the last 5 years he has suffered with pain, and has not been able to regularly attend school because of his condition.

Through his sponsorship with Compassion International, Achile has been receiving medical treatment in Burkina Faso, where he lives. Unfortunately the operation that can save his life cannot be done in his home country. He must travel to India for heart surgery.

The cost of this surgery, including travel, is $20,449.

This amount may as well be millions for a family living in extreme poverty.

But if we each give the little we can give, God can take that gift and multiply it. And his beautiful child, Achile, can have the opportunity to live his life. He can have the opportunity to run and play, to go to school, and to be a child.

If you would like to be part of God's blessing on Achile's heart, you can donate here. And I ask that as you go through your day, you remember a child named Achile.

6 comments:

Mark Langham said...

Hey Rebecca. When I read Achile's story I instantly thought of Rick Hodes. He is a Doctor in Africa. I sent him your blog link and Achile's Compassion profile. He says the surgery can be done in Mumbai for 6000 dollars.

http://rickhodes.org/

His email is:

ethiopianspines@gmail.com

His story is incredible and I have no reason to doubt his sincerity or expertise. I hope this helps.

Shebecomes said...

Thanks for that connection Mark. I will let Compassion know! What a blessing it would be if it could be done at that price. Thank you so much. I'll keep you updated!

Mark Langham said...

You're welcome. Please let me know.

Julie said...

I'd love to repost this on my blog. Do you mind?

Shebecomes said...

Julie- Of course you can repost, that would be great. It was actually a Compassion Blogger assignment. They write about once a month and give you a story or prayer item to blog about. If you want to sign up to become an "official" Compassion blogger, go to this page

http://compassionbloggers.com/get-involved

and fill in your info :)

Julie said...

Thanks! I'll copy & link back to your blog to give you credit. I also signed up, thanks for the tip! :)