Jesca is a social and cheerful lady from Bugangari, located in the Rukungiri district of southwestern Uganda. At 68, she has been married to her husband for 50 years, and together they have nine children. Alongside her husband, Jesca is a small-scale farmer, selling off whatever the family doesn't use to generate a little income. Since 2020, Jesca has been experiencing lower abdominal pain, backaches, and intermittent fevers. However, her most persistent and troubling symptom is heavy vaginal bleeding. She has been diagnosed with abnormal uterine bleeding and needs to undergo a hysterectomy, where her uterus will be removed. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $219 to fund Jesca's surgery, which is scheduled for March 9th, at Karoli Lwanga Hospital, Nyakibale. Once she has recovered, Jesca will be able to resume her daily activities, free of pain. Jesca says: “I was afraid this may turn out to become cancerous, but once I am operated on, I will surely be free from all the pain and worries that I’ve been through.”

Eang is a 59-year-old rice farmer from Kompong Cham province. He is married, with one son. At home, he enjoys listening to news on the radio and watching agriculture shows on TV. About ten years ago, Eang developed a pterygium in his right eye, causing him tearing, itchiness, and irritation. He feels like there is always something in his eye and it is very uncomfortable. Pterygiums are non-cancerous growths of the conjunctiva, a mucous layer that lubricates the eye. The growths occur when the conjunctiva is exposed to excessive sun damage and the cells grow abnormally over the pupil. When Eang learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for two and half hours seeking treatment. Eang needs a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the cornea surface and replace it with a conjunctival graft to prevent recurrence. The total cost of his procedure is $225. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care for two days. The procedure is scheduled for January 11th. Eang said, "I hope I will feel better and I can easily work on my rice farm."

Meet Leah, a joyful 43-year-old woman from Kenya. She is married with three children. Leah and her husband work casual labor jobs to provide for their family. She has been experiencing worrisome thyroid symptoms for four years. She visited our medical partner’s care center previously for a thyroidectomy. Following the procedure, a pathology test showed signs of a hurthle cell carcinoma, a malignant tumor on the thyroid gland. The surgeons advised that Leah undergo a complete thyroidectomy to prevent any other issues from arising. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Leah receive the treatment she needs to finally heal. On February 27th, she will undergo a full thyroidectomy at AMH’s care center. AMH is requesting $936 to fund this procedure, and Leah and her family are requesting assistance with the cost of her care. Leah shared: “I underwent my first procedure successfully, and I thank God that I know early that the tumor is malignant. Kindly help me undergo my second procedure so that I may be able to live without problems in the future.”