February 22, 2010 Mi Tho’s Story
We’re going to change a life. Mi Tho’s life.
Mi Tho’s transformation will change a village and maybe even impact a nation. But to help her we need your help!
The following excerpt was written by Mike, a Global Hope Network International (GHNI) staff member heading up our efforts in Myanmar. Here’s what Mike had to say about the help & hope that GHNI and our partners are striving to bring to a beautiful little girl and her village (a medical group will pay for her surgery… we need help for her transportation & recovery).
“I have had the blessing of helping many suffering people through the years. Today I want to bring to your attention a young girl who needs your help. Her name is Mi Tho. Mi Tho has a severe cranial deformity and cleft pallet. She is 9 years old, her father is a fisherman and her family is very poor. Many children in her condition are left to die because of the amount of effort and cost it requires to keep children with severe deformities alive.
“As you know, in May 2008 cyclone Nargis hit Myanmar leaving over 140,000 people dead. Nargis destroyed Mi Tho’s home, her father’s business, damaged the surrounding land so they could not grow crops, and polluted their water supplies. When GHNI responded to this disaster we looked for regions that were the worst hit and most isolated, where little or no other aid was going… Mi Tho’s village was one of them. Through relationships with some of the locals we were able to help provide emergency food and put in wells for clean water.
“Many children in her condition are left to die…”
“One of our partners moved to Mi Tho’s village to assist for the long term. Once there, people began bringing him children who were either orphaned or from a family who could no longer afford to care for them. That was how we met Mi Tho. Our partner took Mi Tho in and wanted to help her but he did not have the ability, connections, or resources to do so. After a lot of work on the part of another dear friend we were able to connect with Noordhoff Craniofacial Foundation, an organization based out of Taiwan that specializes in this kind of surgery. They have offered to do the procedure and cover the cost!
“In Yangon Mi Tho’s lip was repaired but the cleft pallet and cranial facial deformity remain…. From the 1st to the 2nd picture you will see her lip has been fixed but the cleft pallet is not.
Our partners are now working out the final logistics to take Mi Tho to Taiwan for a second surgery. We need your help. We need to raise $4000 for her travel and living expenses to and from Taiwan and one year of care for when Mi Tho returns to Myanmar. By helping Mi Tho we will impact an entire community!
Will you contribute towards Mi Tho’s surgery & recovery?
We need all the help we can get to help her. And all donations are tax-deductible.
(If you prefer to give via check, please make your check payable to GHNI and send it to 813 Menendez Court, Orlando FL 32801, and please include a note that your donation is for Mi Tho).
We will keep you updated on Mi Tho and her village right here! Subscribe to this blog to get these updates emailed to you as soon as they are posted!
Just as The Boy Without Arms was able to get the help he needed thanks to concerned individuals all over the world sharing his story, please tell everyone you know about Mi Tho.
As Mother Teresa once said, “Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.”
Thank you!!
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