Angelika is a caring daughter from the Philippines. The eldest of 5 children, she stopped studying due to inadequate finances, and also to support her younger siblings. Her mother works as a part-time laundress, while her father is still recovering from tuberculosis. Despite her eagerness to support her family, she failed to land a job because of her medical condition. In 2021, Angelika began to experience troubling symptoms, including sudden weight loss, bulging eyes, and amenorrhea. Worried about her condition, she decided to be checked by a doctor. She was advised to undergo series of tests. She was diagnosed with Papillary thyroid carcinoma, which appears as an irregular solid or cystic mass or nodule. It is the most frequent thyroid neoplasm and carries the best overall prognosis. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Fortunately, our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines (WSFP), is helping Angelika receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on December 17th at Our Lady of Peace Hospital. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. A portion of the cost of her treatment is being supported by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and WSFP is raising the remaining $890 to cover the cost of Angelika's procedure and care. Angelika shared, "Once treated, I'd be able to apply for jobs and will be able to support my family again. Thank you for this opportunity, WATSI, and World Surgical Foundation Philippines. May the Lord bless you."

Kaung is a 16-year-old student from Thailand. He lives with his parents, two aunts and his brother on the border of Thailand and Burma. His parents are retired, while his brother and his aunts work in a factory. Kaung is in grade 10. In his free time he likes to play cane ball and football. On November 25th, Kaung was playing cane ball during gym class. While jumping to kick the ball in the air, he slipped and fell on his left arm, breaking both bones in his forearm. Currently, he cannot hold anything with his left hand and is in a lot of pain. With the help of our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, Kaung will undergo surgery to reset his fractured bones and ensure proper healing. The procedure is scheduled for November 25th and will cost $1,500. This procedure will help his arm heal properly and allow him to use his left arm again. "I feel very sad and I am also worried that I will never be able to use my left arm," said Kaung. "I also feel bad for not listening to my mother because she doesn't allow me to play football as she is always worried that I will hurt myself. And now I have. Thank you to the donors for supporting my treatment. Without their help I could never receive treatment."

Priscillar is a 50 year old single mother, living in Kenya. She has a small area in her ancestral home where she does small scale farming for personal use, and can occasionally sell extra produce at the local market. For ten years, Priscillar has been experiencing heavy bleeding. She has been diagnosed with uterine fibroids, a condition that usually develops during a woman's childbearing years. Fortunately, the condition is benign, but it has made Priscillar uncomfortable about being in public places. Priscillar will need to undergo a hysterectomy, to have her uterus removed and fully heal. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,260 to fund Priscillar's surgery, scheduled for October 27th, at AIC Kijabe Hospital. After she has recovered, Priscillar should be able to resume her life free from pain, and free of the constraints that have kept her from going out in public without discomfort. Priscillar says: “I have been experiencing heavy bleeding for the last ten years. It is really uncomfortable and makes me ashamed. I hope to get the problem solved.”

Nancy is a small-scale farmer from Kenya. Together with her elderly husband, they grow food crops for home use on their half-acre piece of land. She is a mother of eight children who are all adults. All her children don’t have a stable source of income at the moment. She needs care but does not have medical coverage and hasn't been able to raise the required amount for treatment. In early July this year, Nancy was tripped by her dog and fell on a stone, hurting the left side of her hip. She sustained a left sub-trochanteric fracture that is making her immobile. This is a fracture of the proximal femur located a few centimeters from the hip. She was taken to a nearby health facility and had an x-ray done after review. She was then referred to our medical partner's care center Kijabe Hospital for surgery. She is unable to walk and is currently using a wheelchair and although jovial and smiling, she is in pain. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On September 30th, Nancy will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. This procedure will relieve her of her pain and help her walk easily again. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,500 to fund this procedure. Nancy says, “I am unable to walk. I am desperate, and also struggling to pay for my treatment. I need this treatment to be able to get out of this wheelchair.”

Wensly is a sweet two-year-old toddler from Haiti who loves to draw and to play with his toy trucks. He lives with his parents and older sister in a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital city. Wensly was born with a ventricular septal defect, a cardiac condition in which a hole exists between the two lower chambers of the heart. Blood leaks through this hole without first passing through the lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving him weak and short of breath. Fortunately, Wensly is scheduled to fly to the Cayman Islands where he will undergo cardiac surgery at Health City Cayman Islands on September 19th. During this procedure, surgeons will sew a patch over the hole in his heart to prevent blood from flowing through it. A portion of the cost of Wensly's treatment is being supported by Have a Heart Cayman. Our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance (HCA), is raising the remaining $1,500 to cover the costs of his surgery prep, which includes all labs, medication, check-up and follow-up appointments, and the passports needed for HCA’s social workers to accompany Wensly and his family overseas. Wensly's mother shares, "Our family has been hoping for this surgery since our son was a baby, and we are so thankful it is almost here!"

Khristopher is a six-year-old boy from Malawi who attends primary school. He is the fourth born in a family of five children. To support their family, his parents work as small-scale farmers. When Khristopher was one year old, he began to experience frequent stomachaches. Although his parents thought they would go away, the stomachaches persisted. At three years old, his condition worsened and swelling began to occur in a sensitive area every time Khristopher cried, coughed, or did anything strenuous. His parents shared that these symptoms worry them as they helplessly watch their child in pain due to this condition. He was eventually diagnosed with a right inguinal hernia, and his doctor referred him to a different hospital for surgery. However, due to financial constraints that prevented their family from being able to pay for transportation and medical expenses, Khristopher’s father decided to continue trying to heal Khristopher using traditional methods. For another three years, Khristopher was treated with traditional herbs. Unfortunately, these methods were not successful, and his condition persisted. His father decided to seek medical care once more, so he brought Khristopher to our medical partner's care center, Nkhoma Hospital. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), is helping Khristopher receive treatment. On August 4th, he will undergo hernia repair surgery at Nkhoma Hospital. AMHF is requesting $846 to fund Khristopher's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably and prevent future complications. Khristopher’s father says, “I have prayed and hoped for a solution to my son’s condition, and I now have faith that he will be cured.”

Elisa is a hardworking 37-year-old from the Philippines. She works as a coconut juice vendor, and her partner works different part-time jobs, both working to provide for their family. Elisa has been experiencing abdominal pain and vomiting since 2018, but she decided to take herbal medicines as an alternative to provide temporary relief. However, her pain continued to intensify, so she checked herself into a nearby hospital. Her ultrasound test revealed that she has gallstones that need to be surgically removed. Due to financial constraints, her needed treatment was delayed, resulting in further damage to her health. Fortunately, Elisa was referred to our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines (WSFP), and is now scheduled to undergo surgery to correct her condition on June 29th. A portion of the cost of her care is being supported by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation and WSFP raising the remaining $826 to cover the cost of Elisa's procedure. "Every episode of pain hinders me from working and providing for my family. This surgery will be very beneficial to me," Elisa shared. "Thank you, Watsi and World Surgical Foundation Philippines, for choosing me as one of your beneficiaries."

Christmaelle is a beautiful toddler from Haiti. She lives with her parents, grandparents, and three older siblings in a small fishing village in southwest Haiti. The adults in her family all fish and raise livestock for a living. Christmaelle has a cardiac condition called ventricular septal defect. A hole exists between the two lower chambers of her heart; blood leaks through this hole without first passing through her lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving her weak and short of breath. The surgery Christmaelle needs is not available in Haiti, so she will fly to Dominican Republic to receive treatment. On June 28th, she will undergo cardiac surgery, during which surgeons will close the hole in her heart with a patch so that blood can no longer leak through it. Haiti Cardiac Alliance is contributing $7,000 to pay for her surgery. Christmaelle's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep and followup. The $1,500 bill covers labs, medicines, and checkup and followup appointments. It also supports the cost of getting passports and the social workers from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Christmaelle's family overseas. Christmaelle's mother said: "Our family is praying for everyone who is helping our daughter to become healthy again!"

Bariki is six-year-old boy and the only child of her single mother. He's a charming, friendly, and social kid. Bariki is now old enough to start school because most of his age mates joined class one this year. Bariki couldn’t join the school because he was born with a disability of the legs making walking for him impossible. He was born with a right clubfoot and the left had a congenital deformity of the knee. Currently he has to pull himself around to be able to move from one place to another. Bariki’s mother depends on small-scale farming to be able to feed her child. She lives and farms on her parents’ land. Last year through our medical partner's outreach program they got to know Bariki and the need for him to have treatment to help him have a chance to walk. He went through treatment of manipulation and casting to correct his clubfoot, and this was successful. He has been to an orthopedic clinic trying to see whether his knee joint could be corrected to help him straighten his leg and stand but his knee cannot be released. To help Bariki have a chance to walk with ease he needs amputation above the knee so that when he is healed, he can use a prosthetic leg that will help him walk. Bariki’s mother shared, “I will be so happy if my son can be treated and be able to stand and walk instead of him crawling.”

Elibariki is a playful and friends 10-year-old boy. He is the third born child in a family of five children. Elibariki has not started school yet because his parents shared that he cannot walk for a long distance due to his foot. The only school in their village is a long-distance walk for Elibariki and too far for him to manage. Elibariki’s parents are small-scale farmers who depend entirely on their harvest for their food and sell a few of the harvest to get money for other commodities. Elibariki was involved in a fire accident when he was three years old. At home, they have an open fireplace outside their house that serves as a cooking area. His mother had prepared breakfast that morning and there were still a few charcoals burning below the hot ashes. Elibariki and his siblings were playing around the fireplace when Elibariki accidentally stepped into the fire with his left foot. Access to medical care was out of reach for their family, so his parents treated him using herbal medicines. Now he is having difficulty walking. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Elibariki receive treatment. On March 15th, surgeons at their care center will perform a burn contracture release surgery and he will be able to walk much better and without pain and discomfort. Now, their family needs help to fund this $639 procedure. Elibariki’s father says, “We always hoped one day we would find the money to take him to a hospital.”