Tumusiime is a 52-year-old single mother to four children. All her children are now married and practice small scale farming since they were not able to receive enough education. Tumusiime presented with lower abdominal pain feeling a mass in her abdomen for two years. This has reduced her work performance and caused discomfort as she gets heavy bleeding also. If not treated, she may have persistent pain, develop complications like anaemia and stands a possibility of becoming cancerous. Tumusiime had never been to any hospital for medical treatment because she had no money but was feeling the pain. After hearing of Watsi partner's SAFE program at Nyakibale hospital, she was seen by the gynaecologist who diagnosed her with tube ovarian mass and cervical intraepithelial neoplasia recommending total abdominal hysterectomy and cystectomy to improve her quality of health. She can’t afford the costs of her surgery and needs support. Tumusiime says, “I hope for a good outcome from my surgery and continue with cultivation.”

Esther is a four-month-old girl from Tanzania. She is the youngest in a family of seven children. She was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain. A month after her birth, Esther’s parents noticed that her head was growing rapidly. During a regular pediatric checkup, her mother was advised to visit a specialist. They traveled to our medical partner's care center in Kenya, Bethany Kids Kijabe Hospital. There, on December 12, Esther underwent a shunt insertion to drain the fluid from her brain. Esther lives with her parents and siblings in a three-room house in a remote village. Her mother is a housewife, while her father works as a motorbike taxi driver. They cannot afford their daughter's treatment. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $685 in funding. “I am happy that we landed at Bethany Kids to access care for Esther," says Esther's mother. "I will truly appreciate if Watsi can help."

“Akatukunda is in the midst of her second pregnancy,” explains our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “During her first pregnancy, she was operated on, but unfortunately lost her baby. The doctors operated on her because she had a contracted pelvis. The situation was made worse because she delayed going to the hospital.” Akatukunda and her husband are hoping for the safe delivery of a healthy baby. Because of the previous complications, however, an elective caesarean section is necessary. A C-section is used to deliver a baby through incisions in the mother’s abdomen and uterus. Without it, doctors worry that Akatukunda’s uterus may rupture, endangering both her and her baby. Akatukunda is a married 22-year-old from Uganda. She is a peasant and her husband works casual jobs as a mason; thus, neither earn enough to afford the surgery on which Akatukunda depends. $160 will cover Akatukunda’s C-section as well as medication, laboratory work, and her four-day hospital stay. With our help and these costs taken care of, Akatukunda and her husband will be able to welcome their child to the family with less financial stress and no fear of complications during the delivery. “I pray for a successful surgery so that I get to hold my child,” shares Akatukunda.

Meet Lucy, a 57-year-old woman from Kenya. Lucy, a loving mother to her four sons, has uterine fibroids which have caused her to feel pain and experience weakness. “Lucy was working as a clothes-wash woman in a small motel before her condition caused her to stop because she was too weak to work,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation. “Her four sons are all casual workers and they have not been able to raise the money needed for their mum’s treatment.” “I want to get well and go back to work,” Lucy tells us. “My sons have supported me and taken good care of me but I know that they have their own families and responsibilities.” $800 covers the cost for Lucy’s total abdominal hysterectomy. Let’s get Lucy healthy, strong, and back to her family and work!