A boy named Achile

Posted with permission from a Compassion blogger, Rebecca,.
Here is her post about a boy named Achile who needs your help.

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.


** Note from Julie. This boy lives in a country were the families make an average of $300 US dollars a year. While $20,000 seems CHEAP for any surgery it would take 68 years for a family here to come up with that kind of money. That is if they don't eat, buy new clothing, or pay for school for 68 years