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.”

Mary is a 51-year-old mother of one and considers herself blessed as she was unable to conceive for a long time. As a single mother, Mary rents a two-roomed semi-permanent house where amenities are outside of the house. She is a farmer and supports herself with the little produce grown on her farms. For the past five years, Mary has been experiencing severe lower abdominal pains. She has been diagnosed with multiple uterine myomas. Recently, the pains have been quite severe, affecting her ability to work and move comfortably in day-to-day tasks. This has affected Mary's performance and she hopes to be treated and relieved of the pain. She needs to undergo a hysterectomy, a procedure in which surgeons will remove her uterus. On January 19th, she will undergo gynecological surgery at our medical partner's care center. Mary needs help raising $219 to fund her procedure and care. Once recovered, Mary will be able to resume her daily activities free of pain. Mary says “I will praise God when the condition is no more so that I can live a better life and do farming to sustain myself."

Vorn is a 65-year-old rice farmer from Kampong Cham province in Cambodia. He has two sons, two daughters, and nine grandchildren. He lives with his wife and his youngest son, who are also farmers. About five years ago, Vorn developed a pterygium in his left eye, causing him constant tearing and irritation. Pterygiums are non-cancerous growths of the conjunctiva, a mucous layer that lubricates the eye. The growths occur when the conjunctiva is damaged due to excessive sun exposure, causing the abnormal growth of cells over the pupil. Vorn is worried that this condition has permanently affected his eye and that he will go blind. Vorn sought treatment from our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre. With their help, he is now scheduled to have a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the surface of the cornea and replace it with a conjunctival graft, which should prevent a recurrence. The procedure, which will cost $225, is scheduled for April 25th, at Kien Khleang National Rehabilitation Centre. Vorn needs help to raise the money to cover the costs of the procedure, medications, supplies, and two days of inpatient care. Vorn shared: "I hope after surgery my eye will no longer be irritated and tearing, and I won’t worry about my eye anymore. I need to work to feed my family."