C
catherine ednieUNIVERSAL FUND MEMBER

catherine's Story

catherine joined Watsi on November 24th, 2016. Ten years ago, catherine joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. catherine's most recent donation supported Catherine, a teacher from Uganda, to fund an appendectomy.

Impact

catherine has funded healthcare for 121 patients in 13 countries.

Patients funded by catherine

Catherine is a 43-year-old woman and mother of four children from Uganda. She and her husband are teachers. Together, they work hard to provide for their family, meet their children's educational needs, and ensure that the household has its necessities. Their teaching careers are an important source of livelihood, although the demands of raising four children and meeting other family responsibilities require careful financial planning. Five years ago, Catherine began to experience troubling symptoms, including persistent pain in her lower abdomen. Initially, she hoped that the discomfort would resolve with treatment, but unfortunately, the pain has continued over the years. She particularly experiences it during physical exertion, and despite receiving treatment, she has not obtained lasting relief. She was diagnosed with appendicitis. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Catherine receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo surgery that will address her symptoms and prevent future health complications on November 3rd. This procedure will cost $297, and Catherine and her family need your support. Catherine says, "For the past five years, I have lived with persistent pain in my lower abdomen. I have visited several health facilities and tried different treatments. This condition has caused me a lot of worry because I am a mother of four children and a teacher who still has many responsibilities to fulfil. I am afraid that if the problem is not properly treated, my condition may worsen and affect my ability to care for my family and continue working. I sincerely appeal to kind-hearted donors to support me in accessing the medical care I need. Your assistance would give me renewed hope of overcoming this pain, regaining my health, and returning to my normal life. I would be deeply grateful for your kindness and generosity."

$60raised
$224to go

Hem is a 57-year-old rice farmer from Pailin Province in Cambodia. She is married and lives with her 64-year-old husband. They have four children. Her first and second children are rice farmers, her third child works for an organization, and her youngest child is a teacher. In her free time, she enjoys listening to monks praying and keeping up with the news. Hem has a herniated disc at the L4-L5 level of her lower spine, a condition in which a spinal disc presses on nearby nerves. She has experienced intermittent lower back pain for approximately three years, but about one month ago, the pain began radiating down the back of her left leg. She also experiences intermittent numbness in her left leg and weakness when extending her left toe. These symptoms have made walking and carrying out her daily activities as a farmer more difficult. Hem was referred to our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), by a relative. She traveled approximately seven hours from Pailin to seek specialized care. After evaluation, doctors recommended surgery to relieve the pressure on the affected nerves. Hem is scheduled to undergo laminectomy and decompression of the L4-L5 spine on August 17th. She has contributed $100 towards her treatment but needs an additional $1,400 in support to cover the cost of surgery and related care. The surgery aims to relieve pressure on the nerves and help reduce her back and leg symptoms, allowing her to walk more comfortably and return to farming and her normal daily activities. Hem said, “I hope that this surgery will relieve my back and leg pain, improve the numbness and weakness in my left leg, and help me walk more comfortably again. I wish to return to farming, and continue my normal daily activities.”

$864raised
$536to go

Ei is a 12-year-old girl from Burma. She lives with her parents, younger brother, and younger sister in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand. Originally from Yangon Division, Burma, the family moved to Thailand in 2021 in search of better job opportunities. Ei's father works in a sewing factory, while her mother is a homemaker. Both Ei and her younger brother attend a migrant school, while her younger sister is too young to attend school. The family lives in the dormitory of her father's workplace. In her free time, Ei enjoys learning Thai and English and doing her schoolwork. Ei was diagnosed with traumatic cataract of her right eye. She is experiencing blurred vision in her right eye, and she can only see objects close to her. She also suffers from right eye pain, is sensitive to light, and has to wear sunglasses when outside. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund lens replacement surgery for Ei. On May 21st, doctors will perform a lens replacement, during which they will remove Ei's natural lenses and replace them with an intraocular lens implant in each eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Now, she needs help to fund this $1,500 procedure. Ei's father expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you so much to this organisation and the donors for helping with my daughter's treatment costs. We feel immense happiness for your support, which relieves the hardship of our family. Without your help, we could not afford her surgery, and we almost decided to postpone her surgery. I hope you can continue to stand for patients who actually need support, like my daughter, for a very long time."

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Eyuel is a bright and joyful three-year-old boy from Ethiopia. He loves to run and play football, his favorite sport, with other neighborhood kids. He is currently in kindergaten and enjoys going to school every day. Eyuel lives with his mother, father, and his eight-month-old baby sister. His mother is a home maker, while his father works as a farmer on a rented land, earning wages once a year from the farm’s harvest. Their income is very limited and barely covers the family’s basic needs.To supplement his farming income, Eyuel’s father also takes on extra casual work to support the household. About a year ago, Eyuel's parents noticed something was not quite right, and there was difference in how he was passing urine. They took him to a government referral hospital, where, unfortunately, he was placed on a long waiting list for surgical care. Sometime later, he was referred to our medical partner's care center, BethanyKids Myungsung Christian Medical Centre (BKMCM). Despite the challenges of waiting for care, Eyuel’s parents have remained strong. They shared: “We will do everything we can to get him treated. We reached out to friends and family, but we could not afford the surgery. We pray for support on this journey. It hurts us to see him suffer, but we cannot question God. We accept it and hope for his healing.” Eyuel was diagnosed with hypospadias, a condition that causes urinary dysfunction. Without treatment, he will continue to experience uncomfortable symptoms and will be at risk of future complications. Fortunately, Eyuel is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on February 24th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $1,293 to cover the cost of his procedure and care. Eyuel's father says: "We hope that our son will get the surgery and get better. I really wish to see him heal and thrive. I came here praying for his healing and that is what I am hoping for."

$1,293raised
Fully funded