Taw is a 43-year-old teacher who lives with her family in the refugee camp. Taw and her husband work at the same school and their daughter is also enrolled there in the nursery program. In her free time, Taw enjoys singing and reading with her students. Taw also loves to grow vegetables around her house, and she is very proud that the vegetables she grows are organic. Growing her own vegetables also helps to reduce her household expenses. Last month, Taw was walking home with a branch from a banana tree she had just cut down to cook for dinner. That afternoon it was drizzling and the dirt road was slippery. Taw slipped and fell onto her left arm, breaking both bones in her left forearm. With the help of Watsi donors, she underwent surgery to insert a metal rod into her forearm at the end of August at Chiang Mai Hospital. A few days after her surgery, Taw's wound got an infection and the doctor had to perform another surgery to remove the rod from her arm. Once the infection cleared up with the help of antibiotics, the doctor scheduled another surgery to have the rod reinserted into Taw's arm to finally help her heal. Taw’s left arm is still in pain. She is in pain whenever she sits down, and the pain increases when she moves her arm. If she lies down and puts her left arm on a pillow, she feels better. With the help of our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, Taw will undergo surgery to reset her fractured bones and ensure proper healing. The procedure is scheduled for September 7th and will cost $1,500. After the procedure, Taw will no longer be in pain and she will be able to go back home and see her family. She will be able to teach again and garden like before. Taw said, "I really miss my family and my daughter. I hope that I will receive proper treatment and be able to go back home again soon."

Marian is a seven-year-old student and the youngest child of three children in her family. Her mother is a housewife, while her father is a small-scale farmer. Marian has clubfoot of the right foot, a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and even wearing shoes. Marian tiptoes when she walks, has difficulty walking for long distances, and often falls. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Marian receive treatment. On November 22nd, she will undergo clubfoot repair surgery at AMH's care center. After treatment, she will be able to walk well, run, and play with her peers in school. Now, AMH is requesting $1,286 to fund Marian's procedure and care. Marian's mother shared, "I would love to see my daughter walking like other girls, and any support to make her surgery possible will be highly appreciated by our family."

Loyce is a 19-year old married woman. She and her husband are expecting their first child. To make a living, Loyce runs a small-scale retail shop, while her husband sells roasted maize. Unfortunately, the pandemic adversely affected both of their businesses. Their family lives in a single room rental home. Recently, Loyce was examined at a local hospital where her scans indicated that her baby has a gastrointestinal tract congenital abnormality. It is recommended that she deliver her baby by Caesarean section, because a vaginal delivery could cause further complications. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Loyce to receive treatment. On November 4th, she will deliver her baby via C-Section at AMH's care center. The C-Section will ensure a safe and healthy delivery for both Loyce and her baby. Now, she and her husband need help raising $252 to fund the procedure and care. Loyce shared, ''I am not in a financial position to finance the surgery. I really appreciate your kindness to support me.''

Mary is a quiet and hardworking farmer. Mary and her husband plant maize on their one-acre farm and have four children aged between 33 and 24 years old. Their family is having a hard time financially due to the high bills needed to cater for their grandmother's hospital bills and she undergoes chemotherapy for breast cancer. Her children do not have sustainable jobs and are unable to pay for the treatment that Mary now needs. One evening, while Mary was listening to the radio , she heard about a medical camp that was organized by our medical partner's Kapsowar Mission Hospital in their area. She decided to seek medical advice from the doctors. After being seen, the doctors diagnosed her with a multinodular goiter that needed to be removed surgically. Before Mary sought medical care, she resorted to herbal medicine as she could not afford to go to a hospital. Years later, her condition did not improve and her general well-being has not been getting any better. She's become weak and cannot perform her daily duties of farming and house chores. Mary is unable to raise money for her surgery and is seeking financial assistance to get the surgery and lead a normal and painless life. Mary has had a long journey with her condition. In 2008, Mary began to experience troubling symptoms, including a mass on the neck, rapid heartbeat, increased sensitivity to heat and sweating. She visited the nearest healthcare facility where there were no diagnoses made. They advised her to go to a better facility for further investigations. But still many years later she hasn't been able to undergo the treatment she needs to heal. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Mary receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on November 17th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $936, and she and her family need help raising money. Mary says, “I want this mass to be removed for two reasons; so that I can continue with my daily chores and also, for my community to learn from my experience that herbalists cannot cure and should seek medical care at a hospital.”

Two months ago, Victor was born very healthy in a facility near their home. They were discharged and when they arrived home, Victor started to cry and feel uncomfortable. He was not crying too much and his mother did not take it too seriously. The following day, Victor’s aunt visited them and noticed that he was crying a lot. To her, the cry was not normal. She talked to his mother about it and they decided to take a closer look at his belly. A few minutes later, they noticed that his stomach was swollen and later found out that he was not passing stool. They rushed Victor to the facility where he was born and upon examination, Victor was immediately referred to BethanyKids Hospital. Being an emergency, he was brought in an ambulance and taken to an emergency department. He had a colostomy surgery that is the first stage of his treatment. He recovered fully and now he has been scheduled for a second surgery to help heal his condition. Victor is the last born in a family of six children. His parents are not well off financially. Both of them sell groceries and do casual labor when they can find it. The income they earn is just enough to feed the family. His parents are not in a position to raise any extra money for their son’s bill and are asking for financial support. Victor’s mother says, “It is very hard for us to raise any money to cater for Victor’s bill. Thank you.”

Grace is a small scale farmer and a mother of four children. Her husband died 18 years ago and left her a small house that later fell down beyond repair but she has recently managed to put up a small mud-made single room for shelter. All her children were not able to attend school. Her eldest is now 35 years old and is married while the youngest is 18 years old. She relies on the sale of her farm produce to cater to her basic needs. Four years ago, Grace began to experience troubling symptoms, including a small painless swelling which recently started increasing in size. She has never visited any health facility to seek treatment. Currently, she experiences airway obstruction and severe headaches whenever she carries a heavy load and this has greatly affected her farming. She occasionally develops high temperatures, especially around her chest and neck. She was diagnosed with a goiter and after a review by the surgeon, a thyroidectomy was recommended. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Grace receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on November 2nd at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $333, and she and her family need help raising money. Grace says, “I pray that I may look normal again through surgery. I hope to live a comfortable life because the swelling makes me feel abnormal. I will continue with farming once I recover after the surgery.”

Somaly is a 27-year-old woman who is married and lives in Banteay Mean Chey Province in Cambodia. Her husband is a construction worker, and they have two active sons. The first is 10 years old and in grade 5, and their second is 2 years old. When she is not cooking or cleaning for the family, she likes to watch TV and listen to the radio. When Somaly was 14, she noticed a small tumor on her face that has now grown. She has had surgery twice, and was scheduled for a mandible resection, but did not have the money. It has continued to grow and she now has an abscess that is causing more symptoms. In March 2021 she went to a government hospital and fortunately, they referred her to our Medical Partner Children's Surgical Centre. Doctors diagnosed her with ameloblastoma of the mandible and left maxilla. She feels very poorly most of the time. She experiences pain, has discharge from her mouth, and cannot eat. When Somaly learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for ten hours seeking treatment. On November 30th, surgeons at CSC will perform a mandibulectomy and maxillectomy to to allow her face to return to finally heal, and have no more pain or embarrassment. Now, she needs help to fund this $657 procedure. Somaly shared, "I hope the tumor will be removed, and I won't have to hide from people and be ashamed of how I look."

Moreen is a 24-year old married mother of two. She and her husband do small-scale farming to earn a living. They also do other work when they can find it to generate more income for raising their family. A few months ago, Moreen received a cystectomy treatment for an ovarian cyst. She was early in her pregnancy at the time and acquired a fresh scar as she has healed. Her doctor recommends a caesarian section to delivery to avoid complications during and after delivery for her and her baby. Moreen has been attending antenatal care visits at our medical partner's care center Nyakibale Hospital. Moreen shared, "I am not in a financial position to cater for the surgery. Please help."

Promise is a mother of two. She and her husband were teachers before the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost them their jobs. They are currently earning their living through farming. The family lives in a double-roomed rental house in a nearby town. The couple is expecting their third child. Promise has been attending antenatal care visits at Nyakibale Hospital. During one of her visits, the doctor recommended a caesarian section to prevent complications that may occur in a vaginal delivery. Promise is not in a financial position to cater for the surgery and is seeking for financial assistance. Promise says, "My hope is I will deliver my baby safely. I also hope to continue teaching once schools reopen."

In late January, the Muinde family from Kenya was blessed with their firstborn child, a daughter they named Emmaculate. Emmaculate's mother works in a mobile money shop and Emmaculate's father has a small electronics shop. They live in a small rented house in Nakuru, and are able to use their income to cover most of their family's basic needs. They learned that Emmaculate was born with a rare form of craniosynostosis, which meant that her eyes were not fully formed and her pupil was not visible in both of her eyes. A few days after her birth, Emmaculate was reviewed at her local clinic, and the doctor referred Emmaculate to a nearby facility for further examination. Ultimately, Emmaculate was seen by the doctors at our Medical Partner Care Center BethanyKids Kijabe Hospital (BKKH). On March 1st, Emmaculate will undergo a craniotomy in order to release the pressure in her brain. However, Emmaculate’s parents are not able to cover the amount needed for her surgery. Emmaculate’s father says, “When I was told about my child’s condition and the treatment required, my heart sank as we could not afford any of this treatment. As a family, we are requesting financial help.”

Lewis is a playful and social 11-year-old boy from Kenya. He is the sixth born in a family of eight children, and is brother to Jonah, another Watsi patient. When he's older, Jonah aspires to be in the special forces as a military officer in the future. His mother is a single parent and used to be a farmer, but currently stays at home to take care of her children. She recently underwent an amputation on her leg after suffering from diabetes. Lewis had clubfoot of both his feet. Clubfoot is a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and even wearing shoes. Fortunately, Lewis traveled to visit our medical partner's care center, AIC Cure International Hospital. There, surgeons healed one foot with support from Watsi and now will perform his other clubfoot repair surgery on January 25th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,286 to fund Lewis's clubfoot repair. After treatment, he will be able to walk and play with his brother more easily. Rosaria, Lewis' mother shared, “We are grateful that Watsi is helping my two sons undergo surgery. We have seen a lot of impact on their feet. Previously, they used to complain of pain while walking and they like playing a lot. We plead for more support to ensure that their feet can be able to step on the ground and walk like other children. God bless you."

Ryan is a playful and happy two-year-old from Kenya. In their small family of three, he is his parent’s source of joy and their only child. When Ryan was around nine months old, his parents realized that he had a condition affecting his testes. They shared that initially to them, the condition was not alarming. His parents decided to wait and see if his testicles would descend on their own. After waiting for around two months, Ryan’s parents took him to a nearby facility for a checkup. Ryan was diagnosed with bilateral undescended testicles. The physician advised them to wait for at least one year before taking any action in the hope that they would heal naturally. When no change took place, a friend recommended their family come to Watsi's Medical Partner Care Center BethanyKids Hospital for the surgery Ryan needed. At BethanyKids, Ryan was examined and has been scheduled for surgery. If his condition is left untreated, the testicles may be damaged hence leading to other diseases and later affecting his fertility limiting his ability to have a family of his own. Ryan’s father delivers milk to a local milk factory as a truck driver and in his line of work, the income is very little. To add on their family's earnings, Ryan’s mother works in a nearby salon. Ryan's family is not able to raise the required amount for his surgery and are appealing for financial help. Ryan has been diagnosed with cryptorchidism, a condition in which both of the testicles remains undescended. If left untreated, Ryan has an increased risk of developing hernias, testicular cancer, and fertility problems in the future. Ryan will be receiving assistance from our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Fortunately, he is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on December 31st. AMHF is requesting $569 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Ryan’s mother says, “As a parent, I want the best for my child in future but the finances required for his surgery are unavailable. We are requesting for any available financial help we can get so that our son can get the required treatment.”