Rose is a 62-year-old widow with two fully grown children. She lost her husband four years ago. Rose owns a small business where she sells sand and also performs garden maintenance for a small fee. Rose gets support from both children, who are married with children themselves now. She lives with her second-born child in a three-bedroom house without water and electricity. Rose likes doing house chores and enjoys eating nsima, a culinary tradition of Malawi, made from maize flour with vegetables. In 2014, Rose started experiencing pain when she swallowed. She visited the hospital near her home, where she was treated. The treatment worked for awhile until December of last year when her daughter noticed that Rose's neck was swollen on the right side. In March, Rose noticed that the swelling was getting larger and also causing consistent pain. Rose decided it was time to visit Kamuzu Central Hospital in Malawi where a scan revealed her mass had grown substantially and was stemming from the right thyroid lobe. Her doctor diagnosed her with a goiter and determined that surgery would be needed. Due to her financial challenges, Rose could not afford the surgery. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), can help. Rose met with a surgeon who confirmed her diagnosis and the need for surgical intervention called a thyroidectomy, which removes part or all of the thyroid gland. Rose believes the surgery will help her to get better and prevent her symptoms from impacting her day to day life, and allow her to focus on how good her life is. She was able to contribute $10 toward her care and is grateful to all to help her raise the $1,015 needed. Rose said, “Thank you donors for supporting me, I want to live my normal life.”

Jessie is a ten-year-old child from Kenya. He is in grade three, and is an only child. His mother is a homemaker and his father owns a small barber shop. In his free time, Jessie loves to play with his friends About two weeks ago, Jessie was admitted to the hospital for an unrelated condition. On the day he was due to be discharged he complained of severe pain in his right groin area. As this was unrelated to the condition that originally brought him to the hospital, a scan was ordered, which showed that he has an undescended right testicle. Without treatment, Jessie will continue to experience pain, and will have an increased risk of developing hernias, testicular cancer, and fertility problems in the future. However, his family is not in the financial position to meet the cost of treatment for Jessie's condition. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), can help Jessie. On August 3rd, Jessie will undergo an orchidopexy at AMH's care center. AMH is requesting $483 to cover the total cost of Jessie's procedure and care. Jessie's father said, “You can’t imagine how we felt, we were happy to have him discharged from Hospital, only to discover another problem. Kindly support our son so that he may get relief from pain and any dangers of this condition,”

Wedstanley, who is 10 months old, lives in a small village in northern Haiti, with his parents and three older siblings. Both of his parents are farmers. Wedstanley was born with a condition called patent ductus arteriosus, in which blood leaks between two major blood vessels next to his heart. As a result of this condition, Wedstanley is weak and short of breath. Surgical intervention is required in order to restore him to good health. Our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, is requesting $1,500 to fund Wedstanley's interventional heart catheterization. The procedure, during which surgeons will close the leak in his heart - allowing for normal blood flow - is scheduled for April 17th, at Clinica Corominas. Wedstanley's mother said: "Our family is praying that this surgery will go well and that our son will be normal and healthy!"