Moses is a playful four-year-old boy from Nyandarua County in Kenya. He is the seventh and youngest child in his family. Both of his parents are peasant farmers. Moses was a healthy child at birth. However, last year his mother noticed an unusual bending of his legs towards each other, known as knock knees. At that time, Moses' mother was told to wait until Moses was older before considering treatment. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,224 to fund hemiepiphysiodesis surgery for Moses, which is scheduled for April 18th at AIC Cure International Hospital. This procedure, also known as guided growth, will gradually correct Moses' angular limb deformity, enabling him to walk comfortably as he grows older. “I will appreciate any kind of support purposed to help my boy walk normally like other children.” Moses’s mother told us.

Naw Mu is an elderly woman who lives in a refugee camp with her husband, daughter and grandson due to tensions between armed groups in their village. Naw Mu’s husband sells snacks at the school campus to earn some income. Prior to her eye condition, Naw Mu was a shop vendor, but she is no longer working A few years ago, Naw Mu started to notice blurry vision in both her eyes. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), conducted an eye screening in the refugee camp and their staff diagnosed her with cataracts in both eyes. Currently, Naw Mu’s left eye can perceive only light and her right eye can only see at close distances. BMCF is requesting $1,500 to fund lens replacement surgery for her on March 6th. During this procedure, doctors will remove Naw Mu's natural lenses and replace them with an intraocular lens implant in each eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Naw Mu said, “I don’t worry about the operation because it would make me better. I would love to see properly after the operation.”

Nuriya is 2-year-old toddler from Ethiopia who loves his mom and dad very much and always wants to be with them. Nuriya enjoys chatting and playing with his parents. Now he also has a three-month-old baby sister. His parents are working hard to raise them both. They shared that they went through a lot as a previous immigrant in Saudi Arabia and their family now decided to stay in their home country to raise a family and support it from their homeland. Nuriya's grandparents gave his parents a small piece of land that they are now farming. However, the fruit that they farm is only enough to maintain the daily needs of the family. Nuriya was born with hypospadias, a congenital abnormality that causes urinary dysfunction. Without treatment, he will continue to experience uncomfortable symptoms and will be at risk of infertility. Fortunately, Nuriya is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on July 6th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,293 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Nuriya was also born with another birth condition that Watsi donors supported for treatment and his family is tremendously grateful for support. Nuriya's mother is inspired by the care he is receiving, “I hope he will be a doctor in the future. Just as the doctor who treated him and changed his health in the past, I want him to grow and treat so many kids with sickness and disability.”

Daw Mya is a 59-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her daughter, granddaughter, son, daughter-in-law, and grandson in Yangon, Burma. Daw Mya is currently too ill to work, but her daughter works as a seamstress in a factory. Her granddaughter goes to school, her son is a taxi driver, her daughter-in-law looks after their son at home. Her daughter and her son both help look after Daw Mya and try to support her as best they can. Daw Mya was diagnosed with a heart condition that involves a malformation of the mitral valve, the valve between the left atrium and left ventricle. This valve controls the flow of blood, but certain conditions may cause blood to flow backward or the valve to narrow. Currently, Daw Mya feels tired and experiences heart palpitations with chest pain. She has no appetite and cannot sleep well at night, and both of her legs are swollen. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund a mitral valve replacement for Daw Mya. The treatment is scheduled to take place on February 21st and, once completed, will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably. Daw Mya said, “I want to get better soon so that I can help my family. I want to help them because my daughter-in-law is always looking after me and her child [my grandson], so she cannot work. If I can look after the household chores and take care of the family, they can go to work and earn more income for our family. I cannot go anywhere because of my condition. They always take care of me and they spend too much of their money on me.”

Niwandinda is a 16-year-old student from Uganda. She is just starting senior high school. Niwandinda is the firstborn in a family of six children. She has three sisters and two brothers who all still in school too. Her mother works as a small scale farmer, while her father is a bricklayer. Three years ago, Niwandinda began to experience troubling symptoms, including difficulty breathing and an irritating cough. She was diagnosed with a goiter, an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. Niwandinda needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Niwandinda receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on December 1st at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $252, and she and her family need help raising money. Niwandinda's father shared, “I hope that she will be fine once her surgery is done and I hope she will continue with school without any problem.”

Sothida is an only child and loves to play outside with friends and watch television. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Since she was four years old, she has had a recurrent infection that makes it difficult to breath and sleep. Surgery can get rid of the infection and improve her quality of life. She will be able to sleep again and focus better at school.

Mu Mu is a 43 year-old woman who lives in Burma with her parents, husband, daughter, and younger brother. Mu Mu used to work as a day laborer, but recent health complications have prevented her from working. Now, she sells dried food and snacks from home. She and her husband support the family. Her daughter recently completed tenth grade and is about to enroll in university. One year ago, Mu Mu began to experience painful symptoms in a sensitive area. She visited our medical partner, where she underwent an electrocardiogram, an x-ray, blood tests, and an ultrasound. She learned that she had a mass in her uterus. On November 21, she underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy. This procedure should reduce Mu Mu’s uncomfortable symptoms, which included back pain and difficulty sleeping. Now, she needs help to fund this $1,500 treatment.

Tha Zin is an 18-year-old student from Mogok Township, Kachin State, Burma (near Mandalay Division). She lives with her mother, father, and her three sisters. Tha Zin's father supports the family. His job is to cut and polish gemstones and he earns approximately 300,000 kyat (approximately 300 USD) per month. This income is usually enough to support the family's daily expenses and they have even been able to save money. However, since Tha Zin became ill the family has spent all their savings on her medical care and now her older sister is unable to return to university because the funds saved for her university fees have been spent also. Tha Zin first started to experience painful headaches in February 2015. Her father took her to many hospitals with several admissions but she was not diagnosed properly. In September 2015 she was admitted to Mogok hospital because she was losing her memory and could not walk or talk. The doctor there suggested Tha Zin's father take her to medical partner Mandalay Hospital for a CT scan. Tha Zin and her father travelled to Mandalay where she was diagnosed with multiple brain abscesses. Tha Zin's family was so worried that nothing further could be done. Tha Zin felt sad, lost hope and became depressed. She stayed at home, mainly lying in bed. Her family has given up hope about finding further treatment because they have spent all their money on medical and associated costs and they were already in debt. Tha Zin's father recently accompanied his younger daughter, Tha Zin's sister, to a doctor's appointment at the Mogok clinic. At this time the monk from the Ananda Myitta Clinic (AMC) was visiting to meet with the doctor and heard the story of Tha Zin's medical condition from her father. The monk encouraged Tha Zin's father to travel with her to Mae Sot, Thailand to BCMF. Tha Zin said, "I feel hopeless and thought I will die soon. My family has spent a lot of money on hospital and medical costs. I feel like a burden and trouble for my family. My sisters are also so worried for me all the time. If I have a future I want to study and live with my family for a long time." She added, "I want to be well soon. I would like to go to university and then become a teacher and help my community." With the support from Watsi, Tha Zin underwent a CT scan on October 11. The result showed mass-like growths which needed to be removed very quickly. Tha Zin had this growth removal surgery on October 22.

“My children look up to me for support. I really hope to get well soon so that my life can get back to normal." says Susan, a 39-year-old widowed mother of two from Kenya. "If I get well, I hope to be able to start a small business to sustain my family.” Susan works hard on her small farm to provide for her family, but she dreams of a better life. She is currently in a great deal of pain caused by uterine fibroids. If left untreated, the uterine fibroids will grow and Susan will continue to experience pain, bleeding and anemia. Managing her small farm and raising two children has become difficult due to her condition. Our partners at African Mission Healthcare Foundation say that if Susan receives a total abdominal hysterectomy, she will likely make a full recovery. For $790, we can give Susan the much-needed treatment she needs to live pain free. With our help, Susan and her children will be able to enjoy a a better life, together.

Meet Soeung, a 67-year-old woman living in Cambodia. Soeung has four children, and ten grandchildren, and in her spare time enjoys listening to the radio and cooking for her large family! Unfortunately, the mature cataracts that have been clouding her vision make it difficult to help take care of her family. For the past year, Soeung's vision has been steadily declining. With her partial blindness, she has had to stop working and finds it quite difficult to move around the house freely. For only $100, Soeung would be able to undergo a small-incision cataract surgery that would help repair the lenses of her eyes, and restore a great deal of her vision. Let us give Soeung the gift of sight, and the opportunity to continue to support her cherished family!