Michael is a beautiful baby who likes playing with blocks and waving his arms in time to music. Michael has a cardiac condition called tricuspid atresia: he was born without one of the four valves that is normally present in the heart. As a result, blood cannot flow through his lungs and body normally, leaving him sick and short of breath. On March 1st, Michael will undergo cardiac surgery, during which doctors will perform a technique called a Glenn procedure to create a conduit to allow blood to bypass the missing valve and more easily circulate through Michael's body. Another organization, Gift of Life International, is contributing $5,000 to pay for surgery, but Michael's family is still in need of $1,500 and have turned to the Watsi community for support. Michael's mother says: "It has been very frightening to see my son have such difficulty breathing, and I am so glad we can finally find a way to help him."

Jovitah is a 33-year-old farmer from Uganda. She is a slim, tall, and shy lady. She is a mother to two school-aged children, with the eldest in primary class one and the youngest in nursery school. She studied up to primary class four and remained at home farming for almost 10 years until she got married. She farms for a living, but due to limited land, she mostly does labor work in other people's gardens to complement her income. Her husband is a bricklayer, and they share a room in her father-in-law's house. Since she was born, Jovitah has had supra umbilical hernia. She has swelling above the umbilicus, and experiences pain after eating, bending over, or lifting heavy objects. This has made it challenging to work at the farm. Fortunately, on April 4th, she will undergo hernia repair surgery at our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $230 to fund Jovitah's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably and confidently. Jovitah says, “I hope I will be healed once am given your support to have surgery.”

Shallon is the mother of three children and a businesswoman from Southwestern Uganda. She has a diploma in education, but was unable to get a job in that field, so decided to start a small retail shop to make ends meet. She lives in a rental house with her children, as she separated from her husband. Two years ago, Shallon began to experience troubling symptoms, including neck swelling, difficulty breathing, and swallowing. She was diagnosed with cystic goitre. A visit to a traditional herbalist had not helped, so she went to the hospital. She had a scan, and surgery was recommended to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Shallon receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on January 24th 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 to pay for it. Shallon says, “I hope the complications I have been passing through will be no more once I am given a chance to be operated on with your help.”