Jonah is a 60-year-old farmer who lives with her husband in the southwestern district of Rukungiri, Uganda. She farms with her husband on a small scale due to limited land, but also does casual labor on other people's gardens to complement her income. She is a mother of six sons and two daughters who are married. Jonah has had a swelling at the back of her neck for the past two years. The swelling causes backache and headaches which hinder her work. The doctor recommended an excision treatment for a complete recovery. However, she is unable to fund the surgery and needs support. Jonah traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On March 7th, surgeons will remove the mass. Now, Jonah needs help to raise $137 to fund this procedure. Jonah says, "I hope to be relieved from the symptoms that have always caused me pain once I am operated on and be able to work normally."

Dennis is the first born in a family of four children. When he finished high school, he was reluctant to join college because of his condition. He currently is not able to work because he gets easily tired and cannot carry heavy loads. He joined college just recently but has been out of school for the past two months. Now that he is at home, he helps his mother who picks tea for a living. He does not have a health insurance coverage and cannot raise the required amount of money to cater for his hospital bill. In 2019 while he was sitting for his national school exams, Dennis experienced sharp pain in his esophagus. He took a glass of water, and the pain went away for a few weeks. The pain used to occur roughly two times in a month and a glass of water would help a lot. Late last year, the pain worsened. He was not in a position to swallow food. He went to a herbalist and was given some medication to use for some time. When the dose was over, the pain was still persistent, and he still could not swallow food normally. He was then referred to Kijabe Hospital by a friend where he was examined and given some medication to use. He didn't feel better and decided to go back to the herbalist for different medication but there was no change. Later he finally returned to Kijabe Hospital and scans and tests revealed that he has Achalasia. He is scheduled for a heller's myotomy which is a curative laparotomy surgery for his condition. Now he needs $1,074 to pay for the surgery. Dennis says, "I feel very sad. If I was healthy, I would be able to work well and be comfortable with myself.”

Reasey is a 26-year-old rubber farmer. He lives at home with his parents and has five siblings: four brothers and one sister. He and his siblings support his elderly parents by working at a local rubber plantation in Kampong Cham province. In his free time, he enjoys playing football, watching TV, listening to the radio, and helping with housework. In September 2021, he was in a car accident with trauma to his left knee. His family took him to a local hospital for x-rays and he received a brace to support his knee. Because he could not afford any surgery, he visited a Khmer traditional healer for ongoing care. However, he continues to have pain in his knee and his kneecap is unstable. He takes medication to ease his symptoms, but he is still in pain, and cannot extend his knee or work on the rubber plantation anymore. When Reasey learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for two hours seeking treatment. On November 21st, surgeons at CSC will perform a left knee fusion to create a stable, immobile joint in order to relieve his debilitating pain. Now, Reasey needs help to fund this $600 procedure. Reasey shared: "After surgery, I hope my knee will have no pain, I can walk better, and return to work to support my parents."