6-year-old Celeste suffered from painful stomach aches., Exhausted and weak, she began to fall asleep in class.

HUAYCÁN, Peru – For Celeste, each day at school was an exciting adventure.

The six-year-old looked forward to writing the alphabet, working on addition and subtraction, and playing with her friends during recess.

That is, until she started suffering terrible stomach aches.

The pain was so bad that it woke her up during the night and made her cry. But she kept going to school—in spite of her pain and exhaustion.

Soon, however, Celeste began to struggle with her schoolwork. She couldn’t focus in class and would forget the answers to math problems she’d known only a few weeks before. And she was so tired and weak she started to fall asleep in class.

“My daughter became distant,” said Celeste’s mother, Martha. “She didn’t want to study and her self-esteem went down. She didn’t want to play with her friends anymore—all she wanted to do was sleep.”

Eventually, Celeste was too sick to go to school anymore. Day after day, she stayed home in bed.

After being treated at an OBI clinic, Celeste quickly recovered from intestinal parasites. She is healthy, happy, and back in school.

Then one day, Celeste’s mother heard about a health clinic set up by Operation Blessing in their small village in Huaycán, Peru. She brought Celeste to the clinic, where the little girl was one of hundreds of children given a small, mint-flavored chewable anti-parasite tablet.

Almost immediately, Celeste began to feel better. “As soon as my daughter took the parasite pill, her appetite started to return,” said Martha. Celeste went back to school , and is once again making good progress in all her subjects.  

In fact, Celeste’s teacher was surprised at how quickly she recovered. “She is doing very well academically, and playing with friends again,” said her teacher.

Today, Celeste is not only a healthy and happy little girl, but her recovery has also inspired big dreams for the future. "When I grow up, I would like to become a doctor,” she said.

HOW YOU CAN HELP
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