Joseph is a bright six-year-old student from Kenya. He is the oldest in a family of two children. Both of his parents work as small-scale farmers to support their family. Joseph has clubfoot of both feet. Clubfoot is a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and even wearing shoes. Fortunately, Joseph traveled to visit our medical partner's care center, AIC Cure International Hospital. There, surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on September 6th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,286 to fund Joseph's clubfoot repair. After treatment, he will be able to walk without difficulty and wear shoes again. Joseph mother says, “I have a very bright son. Everything else about him is fine except his feet. I hope he becomes a holistic, confident young man in the future, and I will definitely offer him my all to ensure that is achieved.”

Theng is a loving mother to two sons, three daughters, and six grandchildren. Theng's husband passed away many years ago, so she lives with her oldest daughter who is a cleaner in a local establishment. When she’s not helping her daughter with the house or grandchildren, Theng likes to listen to the monks pray on the radio. Five years ago, Theng developed a cataract in her right eye, causing her tearing, photophobia and blurry vision. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking, so is not able to go places on her own. When Theng learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for two and a half hours seeking treatment. On September 6th, doctors will perform a small incision cataract surgery and an intraocular lens implant in her right eye. After recovery, Theng will be able to see clearly. Now, CSC is helping Theng raise $253 to fund this procedure. Theng shared, "After surgery, I hope my vision can improve so I can go outside again without trouble, take care of myself and help my daughter with my grandchildren."

Bros is a proud father of one son and one daughter. He and his wife grow vegetables and sell them at the local vegetable market. At home, Bros likes to play chess with his friends. For the past several years, Bros has had ear fullness and hearing loss in both ears, although the left ear is worse. He has not sought any treatment because they cannot afford expensive medicines from local pharmacies. He has difficulty communicating with his family and customers, and he feels embarrassed about his hearing loss. Bros was told about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, from relatives, where he went for a diagnosis and treatment of his hearing loss. Surgeons have diagnosed him with chronic otitis media, which is a recurrent infection of the middle ear and/or mastoid air cells in the presence of tympanic membrane perforation. There are no medicines that will cure this disease. On October 19th, Bros will undergo a left ear myringotomy to remove all of the infection to restore his hearing. He needs assistance to pay the $184 cost, which will cover medicines, surgery, and post-operative care. Bros said: "I hope after surgery I will not have ear fullness and pain and I will have my better hearing back again."

Bizuayehu is a beautiful and cheerful girl from Ethiopia who loves to talk and play with her mother. She asks a lot of questions and she is eager to learn about things. She especially loves dolls. Her mother washes clothes and makes injera (a traditional Ethiopian food) for a living. Bizuayehu's father abandoned her mother when she was pregnant. She shared that there was a time when she couldn’t pay for her rent and was out in the streets for several months. This led to malnutrition for both of them but they were able to recover with help from the hospital's nutrition program. She is now living on her very limited income from making injera and washing people’s clothes in the neighborhood, and with support from another organization. Since birth, Bizuayehu has had a bilateral inguinal hernia. The bulge is usually visible when she cries, coughs or strains. She also gets irritable and has reduced appetite. Fortunately there is a cure and on October 6th, she will undergo hernia repair surgery at our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $591 to fund Bizuayehu's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably and confidently. Bizuayehu's mother says, “Once my child gets better and cured she can join a daycare and I can do a better job to earn a better income. And I hope she will do well at school. I would like to thank BKMCM for all the support I got. I would also like also to thank our donors for this surgery. I don’t know what I could do if it was not for you and all the people at different times who supported me and encouraged me. I have been supported and gone through so many challenges, but I have had people by my side. I am thankful to God for this blessing.”

Manith is a playful and creative 7-year-old student from Cambodia. He lives with his parents and is the only child in his family. His mother works as a garment worker, and his father works as a taxi driver for a private company. Some of Manith's favorite activities include painting, playing with toys, watching cartoons, and playing with his friends. At home, he loves to eat soup and yogurts! Manith was born with a condition that caused two of his toes on his right foot to be fused together. Although he can walk, run, and play with ease, it is difficult for him to wear shoes. Fortunately, Manith is scheduled to undergo surgery to heal his condition on August 2nd at our medical partner's care center. This procedure will allow him to live more comfortably and confidently. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), is requesting $299 to fund this procedure. Manith's father says, "I hope his foot will heal well and feel good after the surgery."

Kyle is a beautiful one-year-old girl. She's the last born in a family of two children and her older sibling is in third grade. Her mother is a single mom who is raising her kids on her own. She earns a living trading second-hand clothes in their neighborhood. Kyle's mom shared that they are signed up for a national health insurance program, but haven't been able to make the monthly premium payments so the insurance is not able to cover expenses like surgery. Kyle has beendiagnosed with a rectovestibular fistula and had a colostomy performed at Kenyatta National Hospital last year. She has now come to our medical partner's care center for the follow-up surgery that she needs for her birth condition. She has needed this surgery for a while but the waiting list has been long at the other hospital and their family could not afford the cost of surgery. Kyle’s mother says, “My young girl deserves to grow up like other kids. She needs this treatment.”

Vene is a 60-year-old farmer and a father of five from Southwestern Uganda. He loves listening to the radio while grazing his cows in the evening after long days on the farms. His wife is a farmer as well. The couple is now an empty nester. For 10 years, Vene has had left reducible inguinal hernia. The hernia causes him pain especially when he walks or stands for a long time. He tried treating the condition with local herbs but finally opted for conventional medicine and appeals for help to fund his surgery. Fortunately, on December 8th, he will undergo hernia repair surgery at our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $230 to fund Vene's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably and confidently. Vene says “after I'm operated on and relieved from this hernia, I will get better and continue farming for the sustenance of my family.”

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.”

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.”

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."

Joy is the first born child in her family. She is two weeks old. Their young family is feeling privileged and happy to welcome their firstborn baby, however, they are saddened by the fact that their baby needs medical care for her foot. Her condition has caused Joy’s parents a lot of worry about their daughter’s future. Joy’s mother is a housewife who completed secondary school and never was able to proceed to college due to a lack of funds. Joy's father just completed college and hasn’t been employed yet. The family doesn’t have a house of their own and still lives with their parents. When Joy was six days old, she was brought to the hospital by her mother with concerns of umbilical code sepsis. She was admitted to receive IV antibiotics and general medical management. While receiving medication in the ward, she developed wounds on her leg due to several attempts of cannulation. Over time her condition worsened and her wounds became septic. After several efforts to clean her wounds, it was noticed that her foot was not healing. After a long consultation with the medical team, the possibility of amputation was suggested to avoid further affecting her entire leg. Joy is in need and her family's inability to pay for the surgery has made them live with constant anxiety and worry about her future. Their family is appealing for financial assistance. Joy’s mother says, “I feel sorry about my child. It is painful for her to undergo this while she is just a few days old. Despite this, I will work hard to make her happy as she grows up."