Innocent is farmer and a single mother with three children. Her elder son is in senior six of high school, her second is in senior four, and her youngest is in senior one. She holds a diploma in journalism, but hasn’t been able to get a job within her profession, despite trying so hard to apply for one.
She was married and her family lived in the capital area of Kampala. Her husband was a driver but was involved in a serious car accident where he lost his legs. They were renting a home and a time came when they couldn’t afford the high cost of living in Kampala. This led her to the decision to come back to stay with her parents in the village. Her father took up the role of helping to pay for her children’s school fees. She shared that ultimately the distance between her and her husband caused them to separate, but he is a supportive father. Innocent’s father has since passed away, but she has been able to keep her children in school through farming and acquiring loans from local community development groups.
About 24 years ago, Innocent began to experience troubling symptoms, including a large neck swelling which leads difficulty in breathing and inability to turn around well. She was diagnosed with Nodular Goiter and needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Innocent receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on March 1st 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.
Innocent says, “I hope to get relief once operated on because I really need to be strong to meet the needs of my children.”