Damaris is a tea picker from Kenya. She is 32 years old, the mother of four children, and separated from her husband. Damaris never went to school due to financial constraints of her family. Now, two of her children are in secondary school and two are in primary school. The money she earns is used to pay for her children's school fees and to buy food for her children. Damaris inherited a small piece of land from her parents where she grows maize, sukuma wiki (similar to kale or collard greens), and beans for home consumption. A lump began growing on Damaris's neck in 2004. She has never received any medical treatment due to a lack of money. The mass has grown larger, and now impinges on her nerve, causing occasional numbness in her right arm and hand. While in church recently, Damaris learned that a visiting physician/general surgeon was offering free consultation. Damaris sought an examination. An ultrasound was done, and it was determined that Damaris had a large cystic mass which the doctor recommended should be removed. Surgeons through our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), can provide the services Damaris needs. She traveled to AMH's care center Maua Hospital and on February 13th, surgeons will remove the mass. Following the surgery, there should be a release of pressure and the numbness and pain caused by the mass should be relieved. Damaris is not able to pay the hospital bill and appeals for support. She is seeking help to raise $529 to fund this surgery. Damaris says, "I kindly request for your support."

Tway is a 20-year-old man from Thailand. He lives with his cousin, his cousin’s wife and two nephews in a village in Tak Province, Thailand. Since his parents passed away, he has lived with various relatives in Burma and in Thailand. Tway has lived with his cousin for the past year. His cousin’s family grows paddy and vegetables for them to eat, while his nephews go to school. He helps his cousin with farming, but he does not get paid. In his free time, Tway likes to hunt birds and fish. When he recovers, he wants to find work so he can be independent. Currently, Tway has a colostomy. Since he has been receiving colostomy bags from the mobile health team, he feels more confident to go out in public and be around other people. Doctors want Tway to undergo an MRI. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose his condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $814 to cover the cost of Tway's MRI and care, scheduled for February 6th. Tway said, “People in Burma treated me different than the people from Thailand because of my condition. I want to get treatment and be treated the same as other people.”

Chisuka is a widow who lost her husband in February 2023. Chisuka has never had a child of her own but has been keeping three orphans aged 15, 10, and 6 years old for her late sister who passed on 5 years ago. Her husband had lost his first wife 30 years ago who left a 6-year-old son who has been brought up by Chisuka until now. He is a soldier who is married with one child. Chisuka and her late husband loved these orphans and brought them up like their own before death separated them. Chisuka shared that a month after losing her husband, she was chased out of her main house and most of her belongings were taken by her in-laws. Chisuka is now in the boys’ quarter together with her children while the main house is rented but the money is not shared with her. Her stepson withdrew his support after the death of his father. Chisuka started selling groundnut flour for a living. She likes praying and encouraging her children to work hard at school since life has changed for the worse. Chisuka was well until three years ago when she started experiencing cramping abdominal pains and felt a hard mass on the left side of her abdomen. Chisuka has been to different hospitals without much improvement. Of late Chisuka has had overwhelming abdominal pains, bleeding tendencies, loss of appetite leading to loss of weight, a lot of discomforts leading to more stress, weakness, and general body pain. On 24th January, Chisuka was booked and seen by the gynecologist at our medical partner's care center PIH who confirmed the diagnosis of multiple uterine fibroids through an ultrasound scan. She was notified about the need for a surgical intervention called total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) which is the removal of the uterus, including the cervix. Chisuka was then referred to the Watsi program due to her financial status. She is contributing what she can and needs help raising $1,363 to fund her surgery. Fibroids are abnormal growths that develop in a woman's uterus. Fibroids might become quite large leading to severe abdominal pain and heavy bleeding. If left untreated, fibroids continue to grow, both in size and number worsening the symptoms; the heavy bleeding may become worse causing anemia which may be fatal. After the surgery, it is expected that Chisuka will stop having unbearable abdominal pains and heavy bleeding and will continue taking care of her late sister’s children and living a more comfortable life. Chisuka, with tears in her eyes, said, “Please help me, I have faced more than I could, and now I need a breather and a comfortable life to let me render support to my children.”