Sambath is a cheerful six-year-old boy from Cambodia. He lives with his three siblings and parents, who earn income by collecting plastic bottles for recycling. Two years ago, Sambath had an ear infection that caused the ear drums in his right and left ears to perforate. As a result, Sambath experiences ear discharge, hearing loss, and a history of snoring at night which has been exacerbated by an inflammation of the nose. His communication with others has been hampered, and he no longer attends school. Sambath and his mother traveled to our medical partner's care center to seek help for his condition. On March 20th, he will undergo a myringoplasty procedure to repair the eardrums on both of his ears, at Kien Khlang National Rehabilitation Centre. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $914 to cover medications, supplies, and inpatient care for the procedure. Sambath's mother says, "After surgery, I hope that Sambath will be able to speak more clearly, and that his hearing will improve. I would like for him to do well in school, and feel hopeful about the future."

Wishes is a 5-year-old who hails from a village in Lilongwe District. She is the last born in a family of 3 children and is a bright young student in primary school. Wishes’ parents depend on small-scale farming where they grow maize and groundnuts for their family to eat and for commercial purposes to support the family. Since she was born, Wishes has been experiencing a painful abdomen, vomiting, frequent diarrhea, and feeling weak. Her mother has been taking her to Nkhoma Hospital where she was advised to come back to meet a surgeon for assessment. Wishes was diagnosed with a periumbilical hernia, and she was scheduled to undergo hernia repair surgery at Nkhoma Hospital. However, her parents cannot afford the surgery although they hope to have their daughter undergo surgery. This condition has had a negative impact on Wishes’s life as she feels abdominal pain and cannot go to school when this happens, therefore, affecting her school performance. If the condition is left untreated, it may lead to strangulation which can be life-threatening. Wishes is scheduled for hernia repair surgery on February 13th. Our medical partner African Mission Healthcare is requesting $421 to fund surgery. After surgery, Wishes will be relived of pain and she will be able to attend school without any hindrances from the condition. Wishes’ mother says, “Thank you for this opportunity that has brought new hope to my daughter.”

Janet is a small-scale farmer from Uganda. She completed her education up to the primary level but had to withdraw due to lack of school fees. She got married at the age of sixteen and together with her husband, they have seven children. The family has a small piece of land that Janet and her husband cultivate. Their earnings from this are very modest and unfortunately some of their children have had to drop out of school due to financial constraints. Ten months ago, Janet started experiencing some troubling symptoms, including severe abdominal pains. She was diagnosed with a large irregular intra-peritoneal cystic mass. She has been experiencing great discomfort which has deteriorated her health and has directly impacted their family income. Physicians recommended a laparotomy, which is a surgery that opens up the abdominal cavity to treat her condition. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $279 to fund Janet's treatment. On March 7th, she will undergo surgery at Uganda Martyr's Ibanda Hospital. Once completed, this procedure will greatly improve her quality of life. Janet says, "I was already worried about how we shall raise the hospital funds but to my surprise, God already had a plan for us. I have high hopes of having a successful surgery, and I know everything will move on smoothly. I will be able to resume my usual activities of farming, and my children will be able to go back to school and complete their studies.’’