Angkea Sel is a 21-year-old photographer with two brothers and one sister. Angkea Sel's father and brothers are policemen and his sister is in 11th grade. Angkea Sel enjoys listening to classical music, playing football, watching movies, and meeting up with friends in his free time. In February 2020, Angkea Sel was in an accident that caused severe fractures of the 4th and 5th fingers of his right hand, making it difficult for him to use his hand due to his chronic pain. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, will perform a fracture repair procedure so that Angkea Sel will be able to use his fingers easily again. Angkea Sel shared, "I hope this surgery will help me regain my strength and return to work."

Nyamurungi is a mother of nine children from Uganda. Her first born is now 40 years old and youngest is 22 years old. Her family has not been able to attain much access to education and now have limited earnings themselves. She is a small-scale farmer as well as her husband. They own a four-room semi-permanent house for shelter and during her free time, she enjoys taking care of her farm. About 35 years ago, Nyamurungi began to experience troubling symptoms, including difficulty breathing. She has been diagnosed with a goitre and needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Nyamurungi receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on December 7th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $293, and Nyamurungi and her family need your support. Nyamurungi says, “My condition has interfered with my productivity; I pray for a successful surgery.”

Gyi is an agricultural day labourer from Thailand. He lives with his wife, who also works as a day labourer. However, both Gyi and his wife struggle to find work and often have to borrow money to make ends meet. On January 12, 2021, Gyi started to experience difficulty urinating. His abdomen became distended, and he felt uncomfortable as if he had severe gas. For the next two days, Gyi was able to pass urine without difficulty, but he started developing pain on the right side of his abdomen. Four days later, he was unable to pass neither urine nor stool. Gyi and his wife went to Mae Tao Clinic (MTC), where a medic assessed him and thought he might be suffering from partial obstruction of his bowel. Doctors want Gyi to undergo a CT scan, a procedure in which x-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose his condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Gyi's CT scan and care, scheduled for January 20th. In the future, Gyi shared, "I want to continue working in the fields. Also, I would like to move back to Burma one day."

Yoeun is a 62-year-old retired rice farmer with one daughter who sells food on a mobile cart. She no longer works in the family rice field due to her age, instead staying at home and looking after her grandchildren and her elderly mother. Her husband died in the Khmer Rouge regime. She enjoys listening to monks preaching on the radio when she has free time. Since ten year ago, Yoeun has had a pterygium in her left eye, causing her irritation, pain, headache, and blurred vision. Pterygiums are non-cancerous growths of the conjunctiva, a mucous layer that lubricates the eye. The growths occur when the conjunctiva is exposed to excessive sun damage and the cells grow abnormally over the pupil. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, working, and going anywhere outside. When Yoeun learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for two and a half hours with her daughter finally seeking treatment. Yoeun needs a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the cornea surface and replace it with a conjunctival graft to prevent recurrence. The total cost of her procedure is $216. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care for two days. The procedure is scheduled for January 12th. "I hope after surgery my eye gets better, I can be independent and not worry about my eye anymore. I want to go to the pagoda ceremony without help and take care of my mother," Yoeun told us with a hopeful smile.

Saw Ki is a 10-year-old boy living with his parents, sister and a brother in Mae Ra Ma Luang Refugee Camp in Thailand. Saw Ki is in grade two and his siblings also attend school in the camp. At school, Saw Ki’s favorite subject is Koraen literature. In the future, he would like to become an agricultural day laborer and work hard like his father. On the morning of January 30, 2021, Saw Ki was playing with his friends when he slipped on some rocks and fell onto his left arm. Right away, his left arm became extremely painful and his left arm looked deformed. Saw Ki was brought to the refugee camp’s hospital run by Malteser International (MI) Thailand. After a medic completed a physical examination, the medic told him that they thought his left forearm was broken. Saw Ki was referred to Mae Sariang Hospital to receive an x-ray. There, the doctor confirmed that his left forearm was broken and referred him to Chiang Mai Hospital for surgery right away. Currently, Saw Ki cannot move his left hand and he is in a lot of pain. He has been receiving pain medication while waiting for surgery. This surgery is costly for Saw Ki and his family. Saw Ki's father used to work as an agricultural day laborer in nearby villages, but he can no longer work since the refugee camp went into lockdown following the outbreak of Covid-19. His mother is a homemaker. Although their household receives a cash card with 2,200 baht (approx. 74 USD) every month to purchase rations, this amount is not enough. Their family struggles to make ends meet without Saw Ki’s father’s income, and they appeal for financial support. With the help of our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, Saw Ki will undergo surgery to reset his fractured bones and ensure proper healing. The procedure is scheduled for February 2nd and will cost $1,500. After surgery, Saw Ki will no longer be in pain and he will be able to return home, play with his friends and also continue his studies. Saw Ki shared, "I want to play a lot of games with both of my hands, like before. I am not scared of receiving surgery."

Loeung is a 73-year-old woman from Cambodia. She is married and has one daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren. Loeung and her husband are farmers. She enjoys watching Khmer movies on TV and listening to monks pray on the radio. One year ago, Loeung developed a cataract in her right eye, causing her blurry vision, itchiness, photophobia, and tearing. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, and going anywhere outside. When Loeung learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for three hours with her daughter seeking treatment. On November 16th, doctors will perform a phacoemulsification cataract surgery and place an intraocular lens implant in her right eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Now, she needs help to fund this $229 procedure. Loeung shared "It would bring me happiness if I can see well again and live a long life."

Anitha is a beautiful six-year-old child from Tanzania. She is the only child to her mother, who is a single parent. Her mother shared that Anitha's father left their family when Anitha was a baby and Anitha herself has never met him. Her mother helps her aunt in a small vegetable garden, where they grow tomatoes and sell them an open market. Whatever they can earn is what they use for their basic needs. Anitha has clubfoot of both her feet. Clubfoot is a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty with walking and even wearing shoes. Fortunately, Anitha traveled to visit our medical partner's care center, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre. There, surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on January 5th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $935 to fund Anitha's clubfoot repair. After treatment, she will be able to walk more easily and play with her friends. Anitha’s mother shared, “All I wish for my daughter is to see her walk normally so that she can pursue her studies and have a better life.”

Pamela is wheeled into the consultation room wincing in pain. She briefly smiles but gets back to a serious face. Pamela is a widow whose husband passed away in 1993. After his passing, family conflicts forced her to move from their home village in Migori and settle in a crowded, more run-down neighborhood near Eastleigh. She used to work as a tailor but, after she needed a wheelchair in 2011, she has been unable to work. Pamela lives in a single room tin-roofed house and the local church helps to support her rent. She doesn’t have an ID so it has been hard for her to access local services such as medical support. Pamela told us that she has been relying on well-wishers and their local church for survival and her closest relatives live in Migori and rarely are able to offer her support. Pamela arrived to the hospital with bladder calculus with recurrent UTI that requires an urgent cystolithotomy, a curative laparotomy procedure, to aid relieve her stomach pains that have been recurrent for many years now. According to her neighbors who brought her to the facility, she had been in severe pain the whole night, and the medicine that she received from a nearby dispensary were not helping her. Pamela has been through a lot medically and socially. In late 2011, she suffered from TB of her spine and underwent spinal surgery. She has been using a wheelchair since then. In mid-2017, her stomach pains started and in November 2019, she underwent several tests and was booked for surgery at a hospital. She didn’t have funds so she went back home and continued managing her pains with pain medication. Upon hearing about Watsi's Medical Partner Kijabe Hospital, she came hoping for treatment. On November 7th this year, she was reviewed by the doctors and several tests were done which revealed her condition and need for surgery. She was discharged home and booked for a follow up appointment and possible surgery next week (November 23rd) but because of the pains, she was rushed back to the hospital. Pamela shared with us, “This is my only option to get rid of the pains. I have tried several medications but they are not working. I really need assistance to get this surgery. “

Marline is a 7-year-old boy from Kenya. He is a cheerful boy and a Grade 2 student at Jayden Academy. Marline wants to be an engineer when he grows up. Marline's mother says that he loves to dismantle and assemble electronics in the house, and is well on his way to his career dreams. Additionally, Marline has a condition called spina bifida. Earlier in April 2020, Marline was playing with his friends when his mother noticed a small pimple-like wound on his right foot. It was small at first, but slowly started to grow bigger in size. His mother rushed him to a nearby health centre in their hometown, where he has been undergoing dressing in the facility but they have not seen much improvement. Since Marline has been coming to Kijabe Hospital for his spina bifida clinic, he opted to seek review in the hospital and get this wound checked. He was reviewed a week ago by the plastic and pediatric surgical teams, who recommended that he undergoes debridement, excision of calcaneal ulcer, and flap cover surgery to clean and heal his infected wound. Currently, Marline is in pain and at risk for further infection. If left unattended, the wound may result in severe infection and possible amputation. Unfortunately, these procedures are costly for Marline's family. His mother is a single mother raising two kids on her own. Their family lives in a bedsitter house in Ruai, at the outskirts of Nairobi. Marline's father left the family and his responsibility. Marline's mother is the sole breadwinner of the family and she has a small grocery kiosk. The total profit from the venture is very small, and her close relatives are not able to assist with financial support. Their family appeals for help. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Marline receive treatment. On January 6th, surgeons will perform a debridement and skin graft procedure to help heal the wound and prevent possible complications. Now, Marline's family needs help to fund this $1,185 procedure. Marline's mother says, “This wound is worsening by the day. If left unattended, doctors say that he might lose his leg. This would be hurting all of us. Kindly help us as we really don’t have a way out."