Meet Kao, a 62-year-old man from Cambodia. “Kao is married with one son, one daughter, and four grandchildren. He enjoys watching sports and news on TV. He also enjoys listening to the radio," shares our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). Two years ago, Kao developed mature cataracts in each eye. A cataract occurs when a thin, cloudy layer forms over the eye’s lens. "This causes him blurred vision, discharge, tearing, and fear of bright lights. It is hard for him to see clearly, do work, or go anywhere outside," CSC explains. "I hope my eye can see everything clearly again,” shares Kao, “Then, I can work as a rice farmer again and go anywhere outside." After learning about CSC, Kao and his wife travelled eight hours to visit their clinic. They learned that a simple surgical procedure may restore Kao's sight. With $292, Kao will undergo cataract surgery, during which his old lenses will be removed and replaced with sheer artificial implants, allowing him to see again immediately after his operation.

Lay is a 69-year-old woman who is married with three daughters, three sons, and six grandchildren. She enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to the monks pray and watching Khmer dramas on TV. Lay traveled one hour with her daughter to reach Children's Surgical Centre for cataract treatment. Lay developed a cataract in each eye one year ago, causing her blurred vision and tearing. She can't see clearly, do work well, or get around easily on her own. For $292, Lay will undergo a phaco procedure and Intraocular Lens (IOL) implants in each eye, allowing her to see clearly again. "I hope I can see clearly again so I can look after my grandchildren," shares Lay.

Cat-Cat is a three-year-old girl from General Santos, Philippines, living with her parents in a bamboo house with a metal roof in a squatter area without proper water supply and electricity. Her father is a laborer at a fish port, making barely enough to sustain the daily needs of the family. As a result, Cat-Cat is lighter than other kids her age, suffering from moderately acute malnutrition. One out of five children under 5 in ICM communities is either severely or moderately acutely malnourished. Worldwide, poor nutrition is associated with nearly half of all deaths in young children. In remote communities and urban slums of the Philippines, the lack of clean water and unclean environments add risk to potentially fatal childhood diseases. ICM’s Home-Based Feeding program provides nutrient enriched food packs to ensure malnourished children get the additional food to regain normal weight, and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child being malnourished, staff and community volunteers make weekly visits to monitor this child’s progress. To help sustain the health of the child, ICM's professional staff educate the mother, guardian or other family members about proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene and organic vegetable gardening. "We hope that she will recover from malnutrition, grow to become strong and healthy," said Cat-Cat's parents.

Ngonzi is a 31-year-old mother from Uganda. She is married and has four children. Ngonzi and her husband struggle to pay for the education of her children. She is a housewife who cultivates on her small portion of land to produce food for her family. Ngonzi is pregnant with her fifth child. Three out of her four children were delivered by C-section. Ngonzi feels some pain around the scars, but they don’t stop her from performing her household duties. During a recent checkup, the doctor advised Ngonzi to deliver by C-section because of her history of three previous C-sections. If she does not deliver by C-section, she is at risk of uterine rupture during labor. This will endanger her life and the life of the baby. For $280, Ngonzi will undergo a C-section to ensure a healthy delivery for her and the baby. Ngonzi hopes that after delivery she will be able to recover well, regain her energy and continue looking after her family. She also plans to start trading in used clothes and shoes so as to get income to pay for the education of their children. “I am very worried because I have had three operations and now I don’t have money to facilitate this operation,” Ngonzi shared.

Meet Ya, a 63-year-old woman from Cambodia who has five children and ten grandchildren. She enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to the monks pray. Three years ago, Ya developed a pterygium in each eye. This growth of fleshy tissue over the thin, clear layer of Ya's eyes causes her blurred vision and tearing. It is a common condition caused by UV damage, and often occurs in rural farmers who work long hours outdoors without sun protection. Now, Ya cannot see things very clearly, do work well, or go anywhere outside on her own. She traveled one hour with her husband to reach Watsi's medical partner Children's Surgical Centre ("CSC") for treatment, where doctors will perform a pterygium excision surgery in each eye to remove the growth. After this short procedure, Ya will be able to see clearly again and be relieved of pain and tearing.

Math is a 57-year-old farmer from Cambodia. He is married with four sons and one daughter. In his free time, Math enjoys reading books and watching television at home. Math fractured his right tibia in a moto accident, making it difficult to walk due to the pain. He was treated in an emergency room where he had pins put in his leg, but the surgery was unsuccessful in healing Math's fracture. In order to seek additional care, Math traveled five hours with his wife to reach Watsi's medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). Surgeons at CSC will perform an open reduction internal fixation surgery, removing the existing pins and realigning Math's fractured bone. They will then fix the bone in place using a frame. Let's help Math raise the $405 he needs to cover his surgery. After the procedure, he will once again be able to walk without pain.

"We dream that our daughter can gain the necessary weight and be a good student," shares 8-month-old Andrea's mother. Andrea is the first child in her family. She lives in Guatemala with her parents, in a one-room house made of wood with a tin roof. Her father is a bricklayer and her mother works at home - taking care of Andrea, cooking, and cleaning. Andrea is almost three times below a healthy size for her age because she has not been receiving adequate protein, macronutrients, or calories in order to grow. Her mother thought that Andrea was growing normally, until one of our nutrition technicians visited her home and showed her how much smaller her daughter is than healthy children. Even though Andrea's parents work hard, they do not have the money to buy their daughter even one piece of fruit, vegetable, or egg per day - the minimum she needs to get well. Not only is Andrea small due to her malnutrition, her immune system has also been weakened due to her poor diet, making her more prone to getting fevers, diarrhea, and respiratory infections, causing her to lose even more weight, and slowing her mental and physical development. In the long term, she is likely to have a low IQ and be at greater risk for chronic disease if she does not receive treatment. Although Andrea has a serious illness, treatment for malnutrition is simple. Her parents will receive in-home motivational nutrition classes to teach them about what diet Andrea needs to be healthy. She will be a part of Wuqu' Kawoq's growth monitoring program, and will receive food supplements and micronutrients to improve her diet. This treatment, which costs $512, will give Andrea the chance to be a healthy baby, helping her grow, strengthen her immune system, and putting her on track to live a healthy and full life.

Axel is a three-month-old baby from a Mayan community in Guatemala. He lives with his siblings and parents in a one-room adobe house with a tin roof and dirt floor. His mother works at home, cooking and cleaning, and him father works as a bricklayer, only receiving an income on days when there is work. Axel’s mother cannot produce sufficient breast milk for her child and cannot afford formula as a substitute, leaving Axel malnourished. She thought that her son looked normal, and did not realize how underweight he was. She has been giving him boiled water with sugar in it to make him stop crying. As a result, Axel is failing to meet normal growth markers and is far below the average height and the average weight for his age—he is still the size of a newborn. At such a young age, malnutrition is dangerous. Lactation failure can lead to the child becoming starving, dehydrated, and provoke electrolyte imbalances that can cause seizures. Brain development occurring during this delicate time is compromised and the baby is at risk of long term damage. Lactation failure, while dangerous, is easy to treat. By supplying the baby with formula and the mother with health education, Axel will receive the calories he needs to grow and thrive. We can provide this life-saving treatment for $1107. One-on-one education with Axel’s mother will prepare her for when he needs to start eating solid food, as well as help her watch for further signs of malnutrition and other illness. Axel’s immune system will strengthen and he will grow up to be a healthy and energetic baby.

Bharat, a 45-year-old man from Nepal, broke his arm when he was walking down the flight of stairs of his house. It had been raining the whole night and the water had seeped in from the roof to the stairs. After he injured himself, Bharat was brought to the health post by his son. He was given a sling and told to go to the hospital for further treatment. The X-ray showed that it needed surgery to be fixed. Bharat and his wife work as farmers to provide for his family of six. His eldest child currently studies in the capital city, Kathmandu, while the rest of his children stay with him and go to school. They help the family with cattle grazing and the farms. In order to treat Bharat's fractured arm, he will undergo surgery to realign the bones so they heal properly. Surgery plus four days in the hospital will cost $579. "It's difficult now with this injury," Bharat says. "We rely on farming and it is intensive labour. My children will have to take this on until I get better."

Meet Louise, a 75-year-old grandmother from Kenya! When she was younger, Louise worked very hard to save enough money to purchase a small plot of farmland. According to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), Louise now uses this land “to plant potatoes for her own consumption and sell any surplus at the local market.” However, due to breast cancer, Louise is no longer able to farm as much as she would like to. After discovering a growing lump in her right breast, Louise visited AMHF’s clinic and was diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer among women, although the exact causes of the disease are not known. This cancer—which usually originates in the innermost part of the breast (where milk is produced)—may present itself in the form of a lump, a rash, redness or other unusual changes in the breast area. In addition to her cancer, Louise is also experiencing shoulder pain that “makes it difficult for Louise to work on the farm,” AMHF states. “Luckily, tests have shown that the cancer has not progressed aggressively over the last few years,” AMHF reports. “If treated soon, there is a very high chance that all of the cancer can be removed and Louise will not be at risk of the cancer spreading to her other organs.” With $740, Louise will receive a mastectomy to remove her right breast. As Louise has locally advanced breast cancer, this is an effective treatment to remove the cancerous tissue and prevent the problem from returning. Included as part of her treatment, Louise will receive six days of intensive hospital care to ease her into a safe recovery. Following her treatment and recovery, “We expect that Louise will be able to work on her farm again,” states AMHF. Indeed, after regaining her strength, Louise fully plans to return to farming her land once again. She shares, “I like being able to take care of myself. However, with this increasing shoulder pain, I can no longer work on my farm.”