Kabugho is a 42-year old wife and mother of six children from Uganda. In 2008, Kabugho developed a swelling in her left groin region. The swelling continued to increase in size, and it became painful at the beginning of 2016. Thus, she went to our medical partner's care center, Holy Family Virika Hospital, and was diagnosed with a left inguinal hernia. Without treatment, she is at risk of intestinal obstruction and blockage of blood flow to the intestines. Fortunately, she is scheduled to undergo a repair surgery on January 4. Both Kabugho and her husband are farmers. Their income is limited and seasonal, and they pay for their children’s education in installments. Prior to the diagnosis, Kabugho had never visited a hospital due to lack of money. She was relieved to hear that Watsi could help her receive financial support. For this reason, our medical partner is requesting $249 to fund Kabugho's hernia repair. “I have a lot of pain, but I don’t have money for my surgery,” says Kabugho.

Kim Hak is nine years old and in the third grade. He has three brothers and one sister. He likes to play ball with other children and watch TV. Kim Hak has been diagnosed with neurofibromatosis, a disorder that causes tumors to form on nerve tissue. He had a tumor on his left eyelid, which was painful and swollen. When Kim Hak's family learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), they traveled for two hours to seek treatment. On December 6, CSC surgeons removed the tumor. After recovery, Kim Hak will feel comfortable again. CSC is requesting $224 to fund this procedure. "I hope that my son has a normal eye," says Kim Hak's mother.

Sharon is a 24-year-old woman from a village in Uganda, and is ready to deliver her first baby. She is a tailor, and mends clothes in her community and torn uniforms for the local school children. Her husband Nicholas is a subsistence farmer and grows bananas, maize and beans. When they need extra earnings they work as farm labors in the community. During her free time, Sharon likes going to church and visiting her friends and she has also recently started teaching tailoring skills to her neighbor. Even though she is a tailor, her income is not enough to support her hospital fees to have the C-section she needs for a safe delivery. Sharon needs a C-section because she is past due and her baby is in a breech position. For $258, she will receive the care she needs for a safe delivery. Sharon looks forward to taking care of her child and sending him/her to school when her baby turns five years old. “I wish to thank the donors that support people like me in the community to have a safe delivery. May God continue to bless you abundantly!” shared Sharon.

Rich is a 61-year-old woman from Cambodia with seven brothers and two sisters. Rich works as a rice farmer, and she enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to the monks pray. Rich traveled three hours with her brother to reach Watsi's medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), for treatment. Rich developed a cataract in each eye. This clouding and deteriorating of the eye lens causes blurred vision and makes it hard for her to do her work. With $292, Rich can receive a phacoemulsifaction procedure, in which an ultrasonic device is used to break up and then remove the cloudy lens. Followed by an intraocular lens implant in each eye, Rich will be able to see clearly again. Let's help Rich get back to her daily life as usual.

Meet Rauben, a sixty-three year old farmer from southwest Uganda. Rauben has suffered from a hernia for many years, but could not afford to come to the hospital for surgery. He has tried other remedies, such as pain killers and herbs, but lately the pain from the hernia has gotten much worse and he has not been able to work. Rauben lives in a small village with his wife, Gena, and their children who are still at home. They grow maize, ground nuts, cassava, and other crops. Because of his pain, he has had to hire others to cultivate his land and pick his crops. Both he and Gena also pick tea and coffee for large plantations to earn extra money. $208 will fund the hernia repair surgery that Rauben needs to get healthy. This includes all medication and post-operative care. When he is not working, Rauben enjoys socializing with the other men in the village, perhaps having a beer, and participating in the local savings group. He also has to keep a pocket full of candies for his grandchildren. When he gets well, Rauben says he looks forward to being able to care for and pick his own crops. He would like to tell the donors that he has been sick and they have helped him so much. He thanks them very much.

“When I grow up, I would like to become a primary school teacher,” shares Ramadhani, a happy, hard-working, 13-year-old boy who lives with his grandparents in Tanzania. He loves going to school, where he is in class three and enjoys mathematics and science. Ramadhani was born with talipes equinovarus, a condition commonly known as congenital clubfoot. His right foot is twisted out of position due to short tendons in the foot and ankle, preventing him from stepping on the sole of his right foot as he walks. Even with his deformed right foot, Ramadhani likes to run and jump around with other children. Ramadhani’s parents are small-scale farmers who grow potatoes and cassava. They look after Ramadhani and his two younger siblings as well as their parents. For many years, they have not been able to get proper treatment for their son. It is through word of mouth that Ramadhani’s grandfather heard about The Plaster House and what it does and collected enough cash to transport Ramadhani to Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre for treatment. For $1,160, Ramadhani will undergo surgery to release the tendons in his foot and ankle. Doctors will then move his foot into the proper position and place it in a cast for up to two months. Funding also covers the costs of cast changes, braces, and a four-month stay at The Plaster House for recovery and rehabilitation after surgery. After receiving care, Ramadhani will be able to properly step on his right foot and wear shoes.

Cho The is a 35-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her husband, her eight-year-old son, and her father. She and her husband were both born and raised in the village where they live. While Cho The used to work alongside her husband on a rubber farm, she has been unable to work for the past three years due to the symptoms she experiences from her condition. Cho The has uterine fibroids, or benign tumors that develop in the uterus and cervix. As a result, her husband has been the only member supporting the family for three years. Her husband can usually only find between two to three days of work per week. The family does not make enough money to pay for their basic needs, including food. They have been forced to take out multiple loans and to borrow money from friends. Cho The's condition has affected the whole family, because not only does she have to worry about taking care of her son, but her father is also partially paralyzed and the family must care for him. Since her symptoms have arisen, she has experienced leg pains, difficulty walking, and an inability to lie down comfortably, which has been affecting her sleep. It has always been Cho The's dream to have many children. Cho The traveled six hours with a friend to Watsi's medical partner, Burma Border Projects, where she will have surgery to remove her fibroids. The $1,500 procedure, along with a seven day hospital stay, will enable her to recover and live free of the pain and other symptoms that hold her back from work. In her free time, Cho The enjoys studying the English language and reading her holy book. She really wants to start working again in order to be able to support her family better. "I hope that I will be able to have more children after surgery and to support my son through his education," said Cho The.

Minea was born with polydactyly, a condition in which extra fingers and/or toes are present. In Minea's case, she had seven fingers on her right hand, six fingers on her left hand, six toes on her right foot, and seven toes on her left foot. Her mom was born with a similar condition. Minea is a four-year-old girl from Cambodia who enjoys playing with her doll. Minea traveled two hours with her grandmother to reach Watsi's medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), for treatment. It is hard for Minea to hold objects, as she does not have functional thumbs on both hands. Surgeons at CSC have already removed the extra digits and performed a pollicisation surgery-- a procedure in which an existing digit is used to create a thumb-- on Minea's left hand. This was successful, and her left hand now has five fingers including a functional thumb. Minea requires the same surgery on her right hand, but her family needs financial support to cover the $392 procedure. The cost includes a one-to-two day hospital stay for proper recovery. Minea's mom is happy for her daughter to receive surgery on her right hand, and she is excited to see the results.

“During the cold weather Munawara does not do any work – he has to go to bed to avoid feeling the pain,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). For about a year now, Munawara has had a hernia in his right groin area. “The swelling is more painful during cold weather, when he stands for a long time, and when he lifts heavy items,” explains AMHF. Inguinal hernias, like Munawara’s, form when intestinal matter bursts through the abdominal muscle into the groin region. Frequent pain from his hernia has taken away Munawara’s ability to work in the retail shop where he is normally employed—meaning the 33-year-old can no longer earn money for the family of four that depends on him. And in the long run, Munawara’s hernia could become even more dangerous to his health: “if not treated, he is at risk of obstruction,” a complication where part of the intestine becomes cut off from blood flow and tissue death results, reports AMHF. Hernia repair surgery could, therefore, save Munawara’s life. But as he explains, “Although I am sick and would wish to be well, I don’t have the money to pay for surgery.” He has already spent all of his savings on a previous medical procedure for his leg, which had been injured for two years. For $220, we can sponsor the operation that he needs, as well as the 14-day hospital stay and medications that will ensure he recovers safely from the procedure.

Majaliwa is a quiet, three-year-old baby boy from Tanzania. He is the fourth born in the family and his mother is expecting another baby in a few months. Majaliwa likes to play with other children and he especially likes to pull his favorite wooden car, which is tied to a string. Majaliwa was born without an anal opening. An immediate colostomy was done and Majaliwa has been passing stool through a stoma on his stomach. Majaliwa needs a pull-through procedure to be done, and later on, a colostomy closure. His parents are small scale farmers and they also keep a few livestock. As much as they wanted their son to get treatment two years back, they just have not been able to save up enough to cover the cost of operations which Majaliwa needs. Majaliwa needs a three-part surgery to correct his anorectal malformation. $1,500 will cover the cost of each procedure, as well as all pre- and post-operative care. After treatment, Majaliwa will be able to pass stool normally. “My hope is that my grandson will get treatment that will allow him to live a normal life like other children,” shares Majaliwa’s grandmother.

This is Sonita, a 27-year-old factory worker from Cambodia. She is one of six children, and enjoys cooking and helping her family on their farm. "Sonita was seven when she began experiencing bilateral ear discharge and pain," our medical partner Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), explains. "Over time this has perforated the tympanic membrane on both sides." Her condition is also known as a ruptured eardrum, and can cause pain, bleeding, and hearing loss. Sonita details the significant discomfort that her ruptured eardrums cause: "I have ear pain and it is difficult to communicate with other people," she shares. "I cannot go to work at the factory some days when my ears are very painful." Sonita travelled two hours with her mother to reach CSC for proper medical treatment. For $598, doctors at CSC will perform a myringoplasty first on her left side and then six weeks later on her right side to close the perforations in her eardrums. "After each myringoplasty, the discharge will stop and her hearing will improve in that ear," CSC shares. With proper treatment Sonita will be able to live her life without the constant pain and discomfort she has had for most of her life. She will be able to return to her home and work happy and healthy. "I hope my ear stops having discharge and I have good hearing," Sonita expresses.

64-year-old Jane is a mother of two living in Kenya. “Jane and her husband are farmers and depend on their small farm produce for their basic needs,” says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). The couple is also supporting the younger of their two children, who attends a university. Both Jane and her spouse have recently fallen ill. “About four months ago Jane woke up with severe pain on the lower right side of the abdomen,” AMHF tells us. An ultrasound revealed that Jane has uterine fibroids, or tumors in the wall of her womb. Although uterine fibroids typically are not cancerous, Jane’s have been causing her increasingly acute pain, as well as bleeding. This combination of symptoms “has made it difficult for Jane to socialize,” AMHF shares. Furthermore, “the excessive bleeding may cause development of anemia.” Jane will need a total abdominal hysterectomy to remove her uterus and cervix. Several weeks ago, Jane’s husband underwent a procedure to address his own medical issue. Unfortunately, paying for that operation left the family without adequate funds to pay for the hysterectomy that Jane needs. $790 will fund this procedure for Jane, and will also cover the cost of her postoperative hospital stay as she recovers. “I am praying and hoping for a successful surgery. I need to be well to take care of my family, especially now that my husband is also sick,” Jane says.