“I want to be able to help other patients like me,” shares 12-year-old Yoon from Burma. Yoon is a thin girl, and has lacked in energy and appetite for her entire life. For the past year, Yoon has also had sore joints and a sore throat. Her symptoms became so severe that she eventually had to drop out of Grade Four. “The doctor diagnosed her with arthritis and explained that it was related to a damaged heart valve,” explain our partners at Burma Border Projects. “Her condition has also greatly impacted her family. . . the family moved from rural Burma to the city in the hope they could earn enough money to afford Yoon’s surgery. Despite their best efforts, their meagre wages are too low to ever cover the costs of her treatment.” For $1,500 we can fund complex cardiac surgery that will address Yoon’s damaged heart valve, and begin to alleviate her arthritis so that she may return to school. Following surgery, doctors expect Yoon to experience greater energy and appetite as well. Prior to her diagnosis, Yoon wanted to be a teacher. Now, seeing others affected by heart conditions, Yoon wishes to study to become a cardiac surgeon.