Donor Advised Fund for Charity in USA: 2026 Guide
Learn how to use a donor advised fund for charity in the USA in 2026. Optimize tax benefits and support Yaqeen Welfare Foundation with strategic giving.
CategoriesBlogLearn how to use a donor advised fund for charity in the USA in 2026. Optimize tax benefits and support Yaqeen Welfare Foundation with strategic giving.
CategoriesBlogLearn how to verify a zakat eligible charity in the USA for 2026. Discover the criteria for Shariah compliance, transparency, and Zakat calculation.
CategoriesBlogHospital Donation Pakistan: 7 Reasons Your Support Matters Hospital Donation Pakistan is one of the most direct ways to change the health of a whole village, not just one patient. A single donation to a permanent facility gives families a place to go when a child has a fever at midnight, when a father’s blood pressure spikes, or when a mother needs a safe check-up. In rural Pakistan, that place often does not exist. Where it does, it is frequently too far away, too expensive or too short of medicine to help. At Yaqeen Welfare Foundation, our aim is simple: to provide free medical treatment, clean water and practical assistance to the people of Pakistan. This article explains why permanent healthcare infrastructure matters so much in underserved communities. It covers what a rural facility offers, how it works and how sustained donor support can expand its reach. If you have ever wondered whether you should build a hospital in Pakistan or donate for a hospital project, read on. Why Hospital Donation Pakistan Efforts Begin With Access Ask anyone living in a remote village what healthcare means to them, and the answer is rarely about advanced technology. It is about access. Can I reach a doctor? Can I afford the visit? Will there be medicine when I get there? For many rural families, the answer to all three questions is no. The nearest qualified clinic can be hours away by road. Transport costs money, a day’s wages are lost, and a sick family member may have to travel in poor conditions. By the time a patient arrives, a manageable illness has often become an emergency. This is why Hospital Donation Pakistan campaigns focus on bringing care closer to home. A facility inside or beside the community removes the first and biggest barrier: distance. It also builds trust. When people see the same doctors and staff week after week, they start seeking help earlier, and that is when treatment works best. The World Health Organization’s overview of primary health care makes the same point at a global level: care that is close to people, continuous and affordable keeps communities healthier than care that is distant and fragmented. You can also read about the wider health landscape through WHO’s Pakistan country office and UNICEF Pakistan, which both work on child and community health. What a Rural Hospital Pakistan Facility Actually Provides When donors hear “hospital,” they may picture a large urban building with many floors. In reality, the most valuable rural hospital Pakistan communities can have is often a well-run community health center. It is a permanent site that delivers the essentials reliably. Here is what that looks like in practice. Consultations A consultation is the entry point to everything else. A trained medical professional listens to the patient, examines them, makes a diagnosis and decides on a plan. For many rural patients, this is the first time they have spoken to a qualified doctor about a long-running problem. Free consultations mean that cost never stops a family from asking, “Is this serious?” A good consultation also includes referral. Not every condition can be handled at a village clinic. When a patient needs specialist or hospital-level care, the clinic’s staff can refer them to a tertiary care center. Without that guidance, many families would not know where to go next. Medicines A prescription means little if the patient cannot afford to fill it. Many people in underserved areas stop treatment because they cannot pay for medicine, even when the diagnosis is correct. A facility with its own pharmacy and medicine store removes that obstacle. Patients leave with what they need, not just a piece of paper. Reliable stock matters as much as the pharmacy itself. Chronic conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure need uninterrupted supplies. Missing a few weeks of medicine can undo months of progress, so a steady donor base is what keeps shelves full. Diagnostics Diagnostics turn guesswork into evidence. Simple tests such as blood sugar, blood pressure readings and basic laboratory work help clinicians catch problems early and monitor those already known. Our own work for families in need includes free medicine and lab tests, as described in Donate to Poor Families in Pakistan | Yaqeen Foundation USA. Preventive Services Prevention is the quiet hero of healthcare. Immunizations for infants and toddlers protect children from diseases that once filled hospital wards. Health education teaches families about hygiene, nutrition and when to seek help. Regular follow-up for people with diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol prevents complications such as stroke and kidney damage. Every rupee spent on prevention tends to save much more in treatment later. This is a central reason a donate for hospital appeal should always include preventive care in its plan. 7 Reasons Hospital Donation Pakistan Support Matters Now that you know what a rural facility provides, here are seven clear reasons your support makes a difference. 1. It Brings Care to People Who Cannot Travel For a daily-wage worker, a trip to a distant city hospital can mean losing a day’s income, paying for transport and finding someone to watch the children. A local facility ends that trade-off. People get care without giving up the little they have. 2. It Makes Care Truly Free Free care changes behavior. When families know a visit costs nothing, they come earlier, ask more questions and follow treatment through. Hospital Donation Pakistan gifts are what make “free” possible, because patients are not charged and the clinic still pays its staff, buys medicine and keeps the lights on. 3. It Protects Children Early Vaccinations and routine check-ups in infancy and toddlerhood prevent illness that can follow a child for life. This is also why many donors choose to donate to orphans. Read about it in Donate to Orphans: 7 Ways USA Donors Bring Free Medical Care. 4. It Manages Chronic Disease Diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol are long-term conditions. They need monthly attention, not one-off treatment. A permanent facility is
CategoriesBlog7 Ways a Free Health Clinic Can Transform a Rural Community A free health clinic does far more than treat the person sitting in front of the doctor. In a rural village, it changes how families spend their money, how children grow, how mothers survive childbirth and how neighbours look after one another. Across rural Pakistan, millions of people live with a quiet rule: do not get sick, because we cannot afford it. When a free health clinic opens nearby, that rule begins to break. At Yaqeen Welfare Foundation, we see this change in practice. Our work in free healthcare Pakistan is built on one belief: access to treatment should never depend on a family’s income. This article looks beyond individual patients. It explains seven ways accessible care lifts an entire community, and how your support can make it happen. Why Rural Healthcare Pakistan Needs More Than Hospitals Most major hospitals in Pakistan are in big cities. A farmer, a labourer or a widow in a remote village may have to travel hours, pay for transport, lose a day’s wages and then pay consultation and medicine fees on arrival. For many families, that cost is impossible, so they wait. Waiting is where the damage begins. A cough becomes pneumonia, a fever becomes typhoid, high blood pressure becomes a stroke, and a treatable infection becomes a lifelong condition. This is the central gap in rural healthcare Pakistan: the problem is not only a shortage of doctors, but the distance, cost and fear that keep patients away from the doctors who exist. A free health clinic closes that gap by removing the barriers one at a time. It sits close to people’s homes and charges nothing for consultation, so patients come early. Early care is the starting point of every transformation described below. If you want to see how giving connects to this need, read our blog post Sadaqah That Heals: Support Healthcare In Rural Pakistan Today. 1. A Free Health Clinic Brings Earlier Care and Earlier Diagnosis The first and most important change is timing. When a visit costs nothing, people stop treating the clinic as a last resort and start treating it as a first step. Consider what this means in practice: A persistent cough is checked before it spreads to the rest of the household. Fever and stomach illness are diagnosed before dehydration becomes dangerous. Blood pressure and blood sugar are measured before they cause lasting harm. Infectious diseases such as hepatitis C, malaria and typhoid are found before they spread through a village. Every disease caught early is cheaper, safer and easier to treat. The effect also spreads outward. One diagnosed patient who finishes treatment is one fewer source of infection for neighbours, classmates and relatives. This is why a charity medical clinic in a rural area has such a large effect compared with its size. The clinic is not only treating illness, but also interrupting it before it grows. 2. A Free Health Clinic Lowers Family Expenses and Protects Savings Medical bills are one of the fastest routes into poverty. A family might sell a goat, borrow from a moneylender or pull a child out of school to pay for one serious illness. Even a small bill can mean skipping meals or delaying rent. A free health clinic cuts this pressure at the root. When consultations, tests and medicines cost nothing, families can use their limited income for food, school fees, farming supplies and home repairs. They stop making the impossible choice between “treat the illness” and “feed the family.” The savings also last. Because patients arrive earlier, they avoid the hospital admissions and emergency trips that cost far more. Over months and years, a household that once lived one illness away from crisis builds some stability. For donors, this is a strong reason to give. A single healthcare donation can protect an entire household’s finances, not just one patient’s health. On our website, a $25 gift covers a full day of free consultations for a rural family. 3. A Free Health Clinic Creates Healthier Children Children are the first to suffer when care is out of reach. Their illnesses move quickly, and delays are dangerous. Diarrhoea, respiratory infections, fevers and malnutrition can all be life-threatening when treatment comes late. A free health clinic changes a child’s early years in several ways: Routine check-ups catch problems with growth, nutrition and development. Immunisation protects children against diseases that once filled village funerals. Prompt treatment of infections keeps a child in school instead of at home. Nutrition guidance helps parents feed their children better with what they have. A healthy child attends school more regularly, learns more and grows into a more productive adult. That is why health and education work together. At Yaqeen, our education programmes support students with tuition, books and scholarships, and a healthy child is far better able to use that opportunity. When a free health clinic keeps a child well, it protects their future as well as their present. 4. A Free Health Clinic Supports Mothers Before and After Birth In many rural areas, pregnancy is still faced with fear. Antenatal care may be unavailable, a skilled birth attendant may be far away, and a complication in labour can turn deadly within hours. A free health clinic gives mothers a safe place to turn. Access to care can include: Pregnancy check-ups to monitor mother and baby. Early detection of warning signs such as high blood pressure or anaemia. Guidance on nutrition, hygiene and safe delivery. Postnatal care for the mother and the newborn. Advice on spacing pregnancies and protecting maternal health. When mothers are healthier, entire households are healthier. A mother who is well can care for her children, work, and pass on good health habits. A mother who is lost, or left permanently weakened, changes a family for generations. Supporting women’s health is therefore one of the strongest forms of social investment. It is also one of the clearest examples of how
CategoriesBlogHow a $100 Donation Can Make a Difference in Rural Pakistan Donate to Pakistan with $100 and you may wonder whether the gift is too small to matter. It is a fair question. Poverty, healthcare shortages, water insecurity and housing problems are large, and one gift cannot solve them alone. Humanitarian support does not depend on one donor funding an entire project. A single donation becomes part of something larger. One contribution may help support medical services. Another may go toward food assistance. Several donors together may fund a clean-water project. Others may help with school supplies, family assistance or safer housing. A $100 donation does not have to solve every problem to make a meaningful contribution. Combined with responsible humanitarian programs and collective giving, it can become part of lasting change. This article does not promise that $100 will automatically pay for a specific treatment, feed a family for a fixed number of days, build a water well or finance a child’s education. Real impact depends on several factors: Current local costs The type of humanitarian program Location The number of beneficiaries Project requirements Medical or educational needs Transportation and logistics Funding from other donors Yaqeen Welfare Foundation works to provide free medical treatment, clean water and other forms of assistance to people in Pakistan. Below, we describe where your gift can contribute, so you can donate to Pakistan knowing what your money is for. Why Rural Pakistan Needs Support Pakistan has large cities and extensive rural communities, and conditions vary widely by location. Not every rural family is poor or vulnerable. Many communities are resilient and self-sufficient. This article focuses on underserved communities, where households may face barriers such as: Limited access to healthcare Unsafe or unreliable drinking water Food insecurity Educational costs Inadequate housing Long distances to services Limited employment Low household income Gaps in maternal and child health services Little help in emergencies Poverty is usually multidimensional. A family rarely faces just one problem. A household with limited income may also live far from a clinic. Medical bills reduce the money left for food. A child’s schooling becomes harder to maintain. Poor housing or unreliable water adds more pressure. The cycle of poverty often looks like this: Low Income → Limited Healthcare Access → Poor Health → Lost Work → Lower Household Income → Food and Education Pressure → Greater Financial Instability When you donate to Pakistan through a responsible charity, your gift can help address one or more parts of this cycle. Why $100 Can Still Matter Many donors ask, “Is $100 really enough to make a difference?” Charitable impact should not be judged only by whether one gift can finance a whole project. Humanitarian organizations usually pool donations from many supporters: Donor 1 + Donor 2 + Donor 3 + Donor 4 + Many Others → Larger Pool of Support → Medical, Water, Food, Education or Housing Program → Assistance for Eligible Families A donor may not personally fund an entire clinic service, water system, scholarship or home. But that donation can help make those programs possible alongside contributions from others. Small and medium donations become powerful when many people take part. Where Can a $100 Donation Help? Depending on Yaqeen’s current verified programs, a donation may contribute toward the areas below. This table shows the kind of support involved, not a fixed price for each. Area of Support What a Donation May Contribute Toward Main Benefit Free medical care Consultations, medicines, basic diagnostics, maternal and child care Lower healthcare barriers Clean water Wells, pumps, materials, installation, maintenance Safer, closer water access Food assistance Staple foods, family food packages, emergency support Immediate relief Education School supplies, books, student assistance, scholarships Long-term opportunity Safe shelter Repairs, construction support, essential household needs Family stability Emergency relief Food, water, medicine, temporary shelter Urgent help in a crisis 1. Donate to Pakistan to Support Free Medical Care Healthcare can be one of the hardest expenses for a low-income household. A family may need money for: Medical consultations Medicines Diagnostic tests Follow-up appointments Transportation to a clinic Maternal and child healthcare Management of chronic illness When income is limited, even ordinary healthcare creates painful choices. A parent may ask, “Do I pay for medicine or groceries?” or “Can I afford the trip to the clinic and still cover household necessities?” Depending on the verified Yaqeen healthcare program, donations may help support free patient consultations, medicines, basic diagnostic services, preventive care, maternal and child care, community clinic operations, medical supplies and health education. The Impact Can Extend Beyond the Patient A patient is often also a parent, a wage earner, a caregiver, a student or a grandparent supporting a household. Helping that person reach healthcare can have effects beyond their own condition: Medical Assistance → Health Problem Addressed → Better Ability to Perform Daily Activities → Greater Potential to Work or Study → More Household Stability No charity can guarantee recovery, employment or financial outcomes. But reducing medical barriers is a practical form of poverty relief. Healthcare Can Protect Household Finances The financial burden of illness goes beyond doctor fees. There are indirect costs too: lost wages, transportation, caregiving, missed work, repeated clinic visits and medication. When charitable healthcare covers some of these costs, families may keep more of their limited income for food, housing, education, utilities and transport. 2. Expand Access to Clean Water Safe water matters for far more than drinking. Families use it for cooking, washing food, handwashing, bathing, cleaning, laundry, sanitation and caring for children, the elderly and the sick. Where reliable water is scarce, households can face health, financial and time burdens. To donate to Pakistan for clean water is usually to contribute toward a larger project, not to pay for one alone. Depending on Yaqeen’s verified initiatives, funds may support wells, pumps, water-access infrastructure, project materials, installation, community water systems, maintenance and water-quality measures. We will not state that $100 builds a complete well unless Yaqeen has a current verified program where that
CategoriesBlogLearn how you can help vulnerable children get health check-ups. USA donors can donate to orphans today to provide essential medicines and treatments.
CategoriesBlog10 Reasons Supporting a Child’s Education Is a Powerful Sadaqah Jariyah Sadaqah Jariyah for education is one of the most enduring and rewarding forms of charity a Muslim can give. When you fund a disadvantaged child’s schooling, you are not simply paying for books and a uniform — you are planting a tree of knowledge whose shade will fall on that child, their family, their children, and their community for generations. At Yaqeen Welfare Foundation, we believe Sadaqah Jariyah for education deserves the same attention Muslims give to water wells and mosques, because a mind that is opened by literacy never truly closes again. In this guide, we’ll explain why education qualifies as ongoing charity in Islam, what poverty does to a child’s chances of ever entering a classroom, ten long-term benefits of funding a child’s schooling, and how you can turn your donation into a lifelong legacy. If you’ve ever wondered how to donate for education in a way that keeps earning reward long after you’ve given it, this article is for you. If you’d like to see the impact of our other relief work first, read about our INTERNAL LINK: “How Clean Water Projects Save Lives in Rural Pakistan” or INTERNAL LINK: “Why Free Medical Camps Matter for Pakistan’s Poorest Families”. Education and Islam Islam did not simply permit learning — it commanded it. The very first word revealed to Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was “Iqra” (“Read”), and the Qur’an repeatedly elevates the status of those who possess knowledge. Scholars have long argued that seeking and spreading knowledge is not a luxury reserved for the wealthy; it is a communal obligation (fard kifayah) that believers are meant to fulfill for one another when some among them cannot fulfill it for themselves. This is precisely where Sadaqah Jariyah for education fits into the picture. The Prophet ﷺ said: “When a person dies, all his good deeds come to an end except three: ongoing charity (sadaqah jariyah), beneficial knowledge, or a righteous child who prays for him.” (Sahih Muslim 1631) Notice that two of the three deeds mentioned in this hadith — ongoing charity and beneficial knowledge — converge directly in the act of funding a child’s education. When you sponsor a poor child’s schooling as an Islamic education charity donor, you are simultaneously giving sadaqah jariyah and spreading beneficial knowledge, doubling the weight of the deed. Every exam that child passes, every skill they use to earn an honest living, and every lesson they later teach their own children becomes a continuing source of reward that flows back to you, the donor, long after the transaction is complete. Read the full hadith on Sunnah.com Why Poverty Keeps Children Out of School According to UNICEF, Pakistan currently has the world’s second-highest number of out-of-school children, with an estimated 25.1 million children aged 5–16 not attending school — roughly 35% of the entire school-age population. In some provinces, the crisis is even steeper: in Balochistan, nearly 69% of school-age children are out of school entirely. The reasons are rarely about a lack of desire to learn. They are almost always structural: Direct costs — school fees, uniforms, textbooks, and transport are simply unaffordable for daily-wage families. Opportunity costs — many children are sent to work instead of school because every extra pair of earning hands matters for household survival. Distance and safety — rural families, especially those with daughters, often keep children home if the nearest school is far away or lacks basic safety and sanitation facilities. Disaster displacement — flooding, drought, and economic shocks regularly interrupt schooling for the poorest households first. Lack of adult literacy at home — when parents themselves never attended school, they often have no model for how education changes a family’s trajectory, and no one to help with homework. This is exactly the gap that a Sadaqah Jariyah for education donation is designed to close. A relatively modest monthly sponsorship — often less than the cost of a few takeaway meals — can cover a child’s tuition, books, and uniform for an entire year, removing the single biggest barrier standing between a child and a classroom seat. You can read more about the barriers facing families in crisis in our post INTERNAL LINK: “Understanding Poverty in Pakistan: The Real Numbers Behind the Headlines”. 10 Long-Term Benefits of Education When you give Sadaqah Jariyah for education, the return on that investment compounds in ways that few other forms of charity can match. Here are ten proven, long-term benefits: Higher lifetime earnings. The World Bank estimates that each additional year of schooling can raise an individual’s future earnings by up to 10%, giving a child a realistic path out of poverty. Reduced child labor. A child who is in school is a child who is not in a brick kiln, a farm field, or a workshop before sunrise. Improved family health outcomes. Educated individuals are more likely to understand nutrition, hygiene, and preventive healthcare, lowering illness and child mortality within the household. Delayed early marriage. Girls who stay in school past puberty are significantly less likely to be married off as children, protecting their health and futures. Stronger civic participation. Literate adults are more able to understand their rights, vote meaningfully, and engage with local governance. Greater economic resilience. Educated households recover faster from floods, droughts, and economic shocks because they have more diverse skills and options. Lower crime and extremism vulnerability. Communities with strong education access consistently show lower recruitment into criminal networks and extremist ideologies, which often prey on hopelessness and idle time. Intergenerational knowledge transfer. An educated parent almost always insists on educating their own children — the cycle becomes self-sustaining. Better mental health and self-esteem. Literacy and skill-building give children a sense of purpose and dignity that poverty alone cannot provide. A living, walking sadaqah jariyah. Perhaps most importantly for the donor: every skill that child uses for the rest of their life — as a teacher, nurse, engineer, or simply a literate
CategoriesBlogDiscover the profound benefits of donating to charity. Learn how your support provides free immunizations and healthcare to families while enriching your life.
CategoriesBlogHelp poor families in rural Pakistan access free medicine and lab tests. Your Zakat provides lifesaving healthcare. Donate now from the USA.
CategoriesBlog8 Ways a Clean Water Donation Can Transform an Entire Village A Clean Water Donation does far more than fill a bucket. In villages across rural Pakistan, one water well, hand pump, or filtration system can change the health, income, and future of hundreds of people at once. When a community stops depending on a contaminated pond or a two-hour walk to the nearest stream, everything downstream of that single act — literally and figuratively — begins to shift. At Yaqeen Welfare Foundation, we’ve seen this play out again and again. A single Clean Water Donation rarely stays confined to “drinking water.” It touches child health, school attendance, women’s daily workload, family income, and the long-term strength of the whole village. This article walks through why clean water matters so much, the eight specific ways a water project transforms a community, what makes these projects last, and how this kind of giving fits into the Islamic concept of Sadaqah Jariyah — ongoing charity that keeps paying forward long after the initial gift. Why Clean Water Matters It’s easy to take a running tap for granted. But for millions of families in rural Sindh, Punjab, and Balochistan, clean water is not a guarantee — it’s a daily struggle. According to UNICEF Pakistan, an estimated 53,000 Pakistani children under five die annually from diarrhoea due to poor water and sanitation, and repeated bouts of diarrheal illness leave many more children falling behind in school or dropping out altogether. Globally, the picture is just as stark. The World Health Organization reports that contaminated drinking water is estimated to cause approximately 505,000 diarrhoeal deaths every year, even though safe, sufficient water is one of the simplest and most effective tools for preventing disease. A Clean Water Donation addresses the root of this problem rather than the symptoms. Instead of repeatedly treating illnesses caused by unsafe water, a well or filtration system removes the cause entirely — and keeps removing it for years, sometimes decades, after the initial gift. The Link Between Unsafe Water and Poverty Unsafe water and poverty feed each other in a cycle that’s hard to break without outside help. Illness drains income. A sick child means missed work for a parent and money spent on medicine instead of food or school fees. Distance drains time. Walking long distances for water eats into hours that could otherwise go toward farming, small business, or study. Contamination drains productivity. Livestock that drink unsafe water get sick too, which hurts the small-scale agriculture many rural Pakistani households depend on. A UNICEF report on Pakistan’s water crisis found that only 36% of the population has access to safely managed drinking water, while around 20 million people lack safe water altogether, and that unsafe water is linked to a large share of preventable deaths in the country. Breaking this cycle is exactly why a Clean Water Donation is considered one of the most efficient forms of charity — it interrupts poverty at one of its most basic points of entry. 8 Ways a Clean Water Donation Transforms an Entire Village Here’s what actually changes on the ground when a village receives a reliable, safe water source. 1. Reduces Waterborne Disease The most immediate impact of any Clean Water Donation is fewer illnesses. Diseases like diarrhea, typhoid, hepatitis A, and dysentery spread through contaminated water, and the WHO notes that WASH interventions — water, sanitation, and hygiene combined — can reduce diarrhoeal diseases by 25 to 35 percent. When a village switches from an open pond or shallow, unprotected well to a properly dug or drilled water source, exposure to these pathogens drops sharply, often within weeks of the well being commissioned. 2. Protects Children’s Health Children are the most vulnerable to unsafe water, both because their immune systems are still developing and because repeated infections interfere with nutrient absorption. In Pakistan, chronic diarrheal illness is closely tied to child stunting, which currently affects almost 44 percent of children nationwide, according to UNICEF. A safe drinking water charity project doesn’t just prevent a single illness — it protects a child’s long-term growth, cognitive development, and overall wellbeing. 3. Improves School Attendance Sick children miss school. Children sent to fetch water miss school. Both problems disappear, or shrink dramatically, once safe water is available close to home. UNICEF Pakistan shared the story of a girl named Farzana, who used to walk up to 20 kilometers a day for water before a hand pump was installed near her home. Afterward, she said simply: “It saves time and now I can go to school and be with my friends.” Multiply that story by every child in a village, and the effect on school enrollment and attendance becomes significant. 4. Saves Families Time Time spent walking to distant water sources is time that can’t be spent on anything else — work, caregiving, rest, or education. A nearby well or hand pump can turn a multi-hour daily chore into a five-minute errand, freeing up hours every single day for the entire household. Over a year, those recovered hours add up to weeks of additional productive time per family. 5. Supports Women and Girls In most households without piped water, the burden of collection falls on women and girls. UNICEF has calculated that women and girls worldwide spend a combined 200 million hours every day collecting water — time that could otherwise go toward income-generating work, childcare, rest, or their own education. A Clean Water Donation shifts this balance directly. When the walk to water disappears, women gain back hours of their day, and girls gain a real chance at staying in school instead of dropping out to help haul water. 6. Protects Household Income Every waterborne illness carries a cost: clinic visits, medicine, and lost workdays for the adult who has to stay home and provide care. Families living close to the poverty line often cannot absorb these costs without falling further behind. By reducing how often family members get sick, a