“After my surgery I am really looking forward to being able to farm more," Joseph shared. "I miss being active. I can give nothing to the donors who are helping me, but I will ask God to bless them and keep them well.” 70-year-old Joseph still wants to work hard on his land, but due to a hernia, he has a limited ability to do so. Joseph lives with his family in Uganda, and misses digging in his garden. Joseph has been married to Mary for 47 years and they have ten children, four of whom are still at home, and ten grandchildren. He and Mary own their own land and grow vegetables to feed their family. If harvests are good, they sell the extra at the local market. Mary also weaves mats for sale and digs for others to earn extra cash for staples like cooking oil and salt. Joseph enjoys socializing with the other men in his village, listening to the radio, church, and watching young people play soccer. His favorite pleasure, though, is playing and sharing meals with his grandchildren. For $208, we can fund the hernia repair surgery that Joseph needs.

Run is a 76-year-old grandmother living in Cambodia with her husband, seven sons, three daughters, and ten grandchildren. She enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to the monks pray. Six years ago, Run developed a cataract in each eye, causing her blurred vision, tearing, irritation, and cloudy lenses. She has been unable to see clearly, which has prevented her from doing her work well or leaving home independently. She and her son traveled to our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, for further evaluation. Her doctors recommended she have surgical intervention to alleviate her symptoms. They proposed a extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) and an intraocular lens implant (IOL) in each eye, which will replace her internal lenses with artificial lenses, and restore her vision to full clarity. In total, the procedure, supplies, drugs, and four days of inpatient care will cost $292. Run's vision will be restored and her discomfort will be resolved following her recovery from surgery. Her quality of life will be significantly improved.

“I want to resume my schooling,” shares Bwe Paw. “My dream is to become a medic or a schoolteacher.” Bwe Paw is an 18-year-old girl from Burma. When she isn’t dreaming about her future career, Bwe Paw enjoys watching movies with her friends and playing volleyball. Lately, though, health concerns have made it hard for Bwe Paw to relax. In 2013, she started feeling pain in her stomach. Although Bwe Paw took medications from a local pharmacy, the pain only worsened, and she was soon experiencing dizziness, blurred vision, and fatigue as well. After making several long journeys to multiple clinics, Bwe Paw was eventually diagnosed with a benign tumor in her abdomen. Bwe Paw’s doctors say that she needs to have her tumor surgically removed in order to relieve these symptoms. Meanwhile, her condition’s impact on her life continues to worsen: she is losing weight due to eating and sleeping disturbances, and has had to drop out of school despite her high academic aspirations. Bwe Paw’s family cannot afford to pay for her surgery. The money they make as farmers is barely enough to sustain the daily needs of Bwe Paw and her three siblings. But with our help, she can receive the tumor removal surgery she needs. $1,500 will pay for her operation, as well as her lab tests and recovery time at Mae Sot General Hospital. Without the setbacks of pain and fatigue, Bwe Paw will be back on track to pursue her high hopes of working in medicine or education.

Twelve-year-old Koket is a spirited boy from Ethiopia who loves to play football and watch movies. He wants to be a doctor in the future. His parents are civil servants who raise and teach six children, including Koket. Koket was born with hypospadias, a birth defect of the urethra in which the opening is not at the usual location at the head of the penis. In Koket's case, the urethral opening is in two different places, making him unable to urinate while standing. In the last 12 years, Koket's parents have taken him to several hospitals in Ethiopia, and they have spent a lot of money on transportation and on treatment, including six different surgeries for his condition. Koket is currently on a two-year waiting list for the hypospadias repair surgery that he needs. Without additional treatment, Koket may suffer urinary tract infections, and continued urine leaks may cause skin rashes. Koket's condition has affected him and his parents socially and psychologically. “I gave all I had for my son's treatment in the past twelve years," shares Koket's father. "And in 2014, we were included on a waiting list and waited for a call for about two years, and that made both his mother and me weary. We always worry about his condition.” For $1,155, Koket will undergo hypospadias repair, a procedure in which the surgeon takes tissue grafts from the foreskin or from the inside of the mouth to extend the length of the urethra so that it opens at the tip of the penis. Funding also covers the costs of a 10-day hospital stay, including blood tests and medicine. After surgery, Koket will be able to pass urine normally, and the risk of urinary tract infections will be reduced.