34-year-old Beatrice lives with her husband and four children in Malawi. Beatrice uses the income from the saloon that she owns to take care of the needs of her children. Her husband, who is a businessman, uses his income to take care of their home, a three-bedroom house that has neither running water nor electricity. In 2020, some of Beatrice's friends noticed a swelling in her neck. Beatrice- who was pregnant at the time- went to the hospital to be evaluated. She was told that the swelling might be related to her pregnancy and that she should come back after giving birth if the swelling hadn't subsided. The swelling continued to grow; ultimately, Beatrice was diagnosed with a goiter- a swelling of the thyroid gland- and told that she would need to have her thyroid surgically removed. Beatrice's surgery continued to be postponed, but her symptoms of breathlessness and coughing- which often kept her from going to work- continued to worsen. Finally, her sister suggested that she visit Partners in Hope Medical Center, where doctors scheduled her for surgery on January 31st. As Beatrice is unable to cover the costs of her treatment, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is seeking $1,015 to fund Beatrice's thyroidectomy. Beatrice believes the removal of her thyroid will help her to return to her home in Blantyre, and to rejoin her family in good health. She believes her children are the reason why she lives, and she knows that she has to be healthy in order to continue supporting them. Beatrice said: “I am looking forward to getting back to normal.”

Norelien is a 7 month old baby boy from Haiti who comes from a loving family. Norelien was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of his condition, Norelien has been experiencing headaches, irritability and increasing head circumference. He had a shunt placed in his head to help treat his condition, but he now urgently needs a new one. Without this treatment, Norelien will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, Project Medishare, is requesting $957 to cover the cost of surgery for Norelien at Hospital Bernard Mevs, the only hospital in the country where this care is currently available. The procedure is scheduled to take place on December 29th. This critical treatment will replace the shunt and drain the excess fluid from Norelien's brain to reduce intracranial pressure and greatly improve his quality of life. With proper treatment, Norelien will hopefully develop into a strong, healthy young boy. The family is hopeful that their child's shunt will work once again and that Norelien's condition will improve.

Swe lives with her parents and her son in a village in northern Burma. Her father is subsistence farmer, her mother owns a small weaving business where traditional Burmese blankets and sarongs are hand woven. Her son goes to school and Swe is a homemaker. In her free time, she enjoys visiting and talking to her friends in their village. In December 2021, Swe began to experience fatigue, sweatiness, vomiting and difficulty breathing. She also had a headache and a stiff neck. At first she could not travel due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, but eventually went to Mandalay in August to seek help. At a hospital, she received an echocardiogram and was diagnosed with mitral valve stenosis and aortic valve regurgitation. She was told she would need surgery costing 15 million kyat (approx. $15,000 USD), but she could not afford to pay for it. She then went to Yangon with her son, in the hopes of finding another hospital that cost operate on her for less money. While in Yangon, her condition deteriorated and her son rushed her to a hospital. The doctor there confirmed her diagnosis and her need for surgery, but told her it would cost 20 million kyat (approx. $20,000 USD). When Swe told the doctor that she could not afford to pay such a large sum, the doctor referred her to an abbot, who in turn referred her to our medical partner Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) for financial assistance accessing treatment. Currently, Swe cannot walk for more than 10 minutes or she feels very tired and short of breathe. She has a rapid heartbeat, dizziness and headache. She said, "I want to say thank you so much to BCMF and all the donors to help me with my treatment cost.”

Isaiah is a young boy from Kenya. He is the eighth born in a family of ten children. Some of his siblings have finished school while others are still studying. Isaiah's father passed on earlier this year and their family relies on his mother and the older siblings to get by. His mother works on people's farms for a living while the older siblings are mostly casual laborers and do not earn much from their jobs. Isaiah was diagnosed with cryptorchidism, a condition in which one or both of the testicles remains undescended. If left untreated, Isaiah has an increased risk of developing hernias, testicular cancer, and fertility problems in the future. Their family does not have medical insurance coverage and cannot raise the required amount needed for Isaiah’s surgery. Fortunately, Isaiah will be receiving assistance from our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Fortunately, he is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on November 22nd. AMHF is requesting $646 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Isaiah’s mother says, “When I first heard about this condition and what would happen if not treated, I was very worried for my son.”

Chan Se is a 17-year-old 9th grade student. Chan Se has one younger brother, and his parents are farmers. At home, Chan Se enjoys reading and playing football. Five years ago, Chan Se began experiencing difficulty swallowing and breathing. He often experiences a sore throat and difficulty eating and drinking. Chan Se was recently diagnosed with enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which, if not treated, will cause his symptoms to persist and possibly intensify over time. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is fundraising $265 to cover the cost of tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for Chan Se, which is scheduled to take place on September 5th. Surgeons will remove his tonsils and adenoids, hopefully relieving Chan Se of his symptoms and helping him live much more comfortably. Chan Se shared, "I hope my pain stops and I can breathe easily."

Jackson is a loving 4-year-old child. His father is a small-scale farmer who grows mainly food crops for his family to eat. His income is very limited because he must work on other people's farms in addition to growing his own crops. Jackson was diagnosed with windswept deformity. He learned to stand and walk at the age of one year. He was walking and playing without any challenges. But after a few months, his parents noticed his left leg was slightly bent inwards at the knee. Over a few months, his left leg became worse making him walk with a limp. This condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. As a result, Jackson has pain when he walks even for a short distance, making him not want to walk at all in fear of the pain. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $880 to fund corrective surgery for Jackson. The procedure is scheduled to take place on July 8th. Treatment will hopefully restore Jackson's mobility, allow him to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decrease his risk of future complications. Jackson’s mother says, “At the dispensary, they told us to feed him with foods containing calcium, but it never helped him. He was suffering but I could not afford to take him to a bigger hospital.”

Sineth is an active 19-month-old toddler. He has an older brother and older sister and enjoys playing with toys and singing along with videos of children's songs. His favorite activity is taking naps on his mother's lap. His parents are rice farmers in Kampong Speu Province in southern Cambodia. Sineth was born with congenital stenosing tenosynovitis - also known as trigger finger - in both of his thumbs. It is a condition in which the finger gets stuck in a bent position. The tendons - tough bands of tissue that connect muscles and bones in the thumb - have an abnormal flexion. Sineth is not able to grasp objects and it is painful when his mother tries to straighten his thumbs. Fortunately, a villager told his parents that our partner, Children's Surgical Centre, can fix Sineth's fingers, so they traveled two and half hours for diagnosis and treatment. Now, his parents need help to pay the $572 cost of surgery. This includes surgical costs, medications, and post-operative care. Sineth's mother said: "I hope that the doctors can fix my baby's fingers so he can hold things, and will grow up to have normal hands."

Martin is a playful and friendly young boy and the last-born in a family of six children. Martin has not started going to school yet, but his father plans to enroll him in two years. Martin's father says life has been tough for him and his family since he fell sick for most of 2020, something that he says made life for his family tough. Prior to falling ill, Martin's father was a hardworking man practicing small-scale farming to provide food for his family and was also a catechist at their local catholic church. For over a year Martin's father was moved from one hospital to another seeking treatment. Martin's parents were forced to sell most of their property to cover the resulting medical bills. In 2021, Martin's father's health returned and he was able to grow his strength back. Martin's father moved their family to another village for a fresh start. They are now slowly rebuilding their life with the hope of restoring their livelihood once more. Since then, Martin has been diagnosed with Left Genu Varus meaning his leg is bent at the knee so that they do not touch. This condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. As a result, it is difficult for him to walk. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is raising $880 to fund corrective surgery for Martin. The procedure is scheduled to take place on July 5th. Treatment will hopefully restore Martin's mobility, allow him to participate in a variety of activities, and greatly decrease his risk of future complications. Martin’s father says, “Because of the long period I was sick I was not able to provide for my family. My son now needs treatment, but I still can’t afford the cost.”

Aung is a nine-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his parents and his two sisters in a village in Karen State, on the Thai-Burma border. Aung's father is a carpenter and his mother is a homemaker. Aung also has two sisters and used to go to school until their school closed in August 2022 due to armed conflict in their area. In his free time, Aung enjoys watching football matches. Aung was born at a clinic in Thailand with a mass between his eyes. As he grew, the mass increased in size and started to cause him pain. The area around the mass is red, swollen and irritated. His eyes will frequently water and will turn red whenever he looks down or reads for a longer period of time. Doctors want Aung 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 Aung's CT scan and care, scheduled for November 10th. He shares, "I want to be a football player when I grow up. But I also want to help my father earn more money for our family, maybe by building houses."