Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières USA, a Global Impact charity partner, recently opened a new medical facility in Kunduz, Afghanistan. Like any medical facility in an urban area, the new 70-bed surgical hospital sees a lot of road accidents and civilian gunshot injuries. In addition, though the Afghan region is safer that it was in recent years, remnants of war—like stray bullets or rockets—continue to put people’s lives at risk.

One day, a family rushed in with their 14-year-old son. Ali [patient name has been changed to protect privacy] had been playing with friends in a field when they found something they said looked like a battery. It was probably a bomb detonator because it exploded when they touched the two wires that were sticking out of it. Ali had shrapnel in his face and serious injuries to his hands and arms. He was lucky and will fully recover from his injuries. His brother, however, was permanently blinded by the blast. Both boys could have suffered far worse had it not been for the Doctors Without Borders medical facility.

Prior to the arrival of Doctors Without Borders in August 2011, the 250,000 people living in Kunduz had no access to adequate trauma care. The Doctors Without Borders trauma center is equipped with an emergency room, two operating theaters, and an intensive care unit. A good hospital does not exist in this part of Afghanistan, so the Doctors Without Border facility is filling a very real need.

The facility is much appreciated by the locals. Many patients used to go all the way to Pakistan to get specialized care.

There's no explanation for Charlotte hearing loss.

The toddler's deafness was "completely random. There's no family history," said mom Leah, adding, "This is Charlotte's path."

And yet, having a cochlear implant in her left ear and a hearing aid in her right hasn't stopped her. "She's a little pistol; smiley, adventurous, a life-lover," Leah says.

One reason Charlotte's so unstoppable is the therapy she's received since infancy from the Infant and Child Development Services, one of the four core services of Greater Richmond ARC. While initially she "didn't know how to listen and was way behind the curve on understanding," now age two, Charlotte has learned to listen and respond, and can say about 60 words. .

ARC therapists have been "great with establishing tangible goals and helping me with exercises" at home to help Charlotte, says Leah, adding you can see progress when her daughter fulfills directives such as "pick up the ball."

"She's a total go-getter. Nothing's going to stop her."

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David and Alexis Edwards are like many twenty-something couples. The daily pressures of life, including caring for four children, weigh heavy on them and take up much of their potential together time.

Far beyond those ‘normal’ issues, though, the Edwardeses must also contend with challenges few other young families face. David, who joined the Army in 2008, wrestles with an array of painful combat injuries from deployments to Afghanistan and Iraq. He uses a cane due to a chronic condition in his left leg, has nerve damage to his back, deals with fibromyalgia, and struggles with both a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.

“I hurt all the time,” David said. “It’s rough. I know it’s hard for her, but [Alexis] is strong, so she helps me out a lot.”

A week of marriage enrichment in wilderness Alaska last summer came as welcome relief for the struggling couple. The much-needed opportunity was provided by Operation Heal Our Patriots, a project of Samaritan’s Purse. The program, open to service members wounded in combat or combat operations after 9/11 and their spouses, is focused on helping military couples build a strong marriage and grow in Christian faith.

In the small Alaskan town of Port Alsworth, David and Alexis got a chance to slow down and concentrate on one another, soaking in the beautiful surroundings and learning from biblically-based marriage classes. God used a counseling session with a staff chaplain to bring them to place their faith in Christ. They were baptized in the bracing waters of majestic Lake Clark.

Alexis told a gathered crowd, “We both dedicated our lives to Christ. It’s something new for us. We can’t wait to leave everything behind and start fresh.”

When the couple returned home, they found their communication improved—“We understand each other better,” David said—and began to grow spiritually through a local church.

Operation Heal Our Patriots was started in 2012 and has served nearly 370 couples with 160 more expected this summer. More than 130 couples have publicly rededicated their marriages to Jesus Christ and over 110 individuals have received Him as Lord and Savior. For more information, please visit samaritanspurse.org/patriots.

The remote village of Malalani, situated at the foothills of the Ndau Mountains, is 110 km from the nearest urban center, the town of Mwingi. The village dug a well that collects a limited amount of runoff rain water from the mountains. Unfortunately this water is not potable for human consumption. The nearest source of fresh water is the village of Nuu, approximately 40 km away. Residents of Malalani must purchase this water and pay for transportation in order to bring it to their village.

Malalani Secondary School, a co-ed day school of about 180 students, is allowed to take only 3 liters of water daily from the town well. Due to regular bouts of insecurity from Somali raiding horsemen in the area, the school wanted to provide dormitories for the 80 girls who attend the school. Although the school has installed several tanks for rain water collection, their supply was inadequate for the girls’ dorm.

Children’s Food Fund/World Emergency Relief provided funds to install a system of gutters and a storage tank to harvest the rainfall which gives the school the additional capacity to store 10,000 liters of rainwater.

The school wasted no time in establishing the new boarding facilities and the impact has been tremendous. The girls now live at the school and focus on their studies. They no longer have to walk long distances to attend school daily, risking robbery and physical harm.