Rodgers is a seven-year-old boy from Uganda. He lives with his mother, Katie, and his sibling. Katie works as a farmer, growing sorghum, beans, millet, and other crops to support her children. Prior to getting sick, Rodgers was in primary school. Rodgers has severe osteomyelitis, a condition in which infection causes inflammation of bone. His left tibia is infected. He has been living with this condition for eight months. He needs debridement of dead bone and tissue and a course of IV antibiotics. On March 22, Rodgers will undergo surgery at Bwindi Community Hospital, our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, The Kellermann Foundation, is asking for $1,024 to cover the cost of Rodgers's treatment. “I thank the donors for the help with this treatment for my son," says Rodgers's mother. "He is a hard worker, and when he is able to return to school, I know I can expect much from him.” After surgery, Rodgers is looking forward to going back to school and playing football with his friends.

Angela is a five-year-old girl who is in kindergarten. She has four siblings. She lives with her grandmother, who helps her with her studies. During vacations, she goes home to spend time with her family. Her mother is a housewife, and father works in an automotive shop. Three years ago, Angela underwent a cleft lip and palate repair. However, a day after the surgery, the sutures were removed and the surgery site reopened. Now, Angela needs to undergo the same surgery again. Her treatment is scheduled for February 9. Angela's family cannot afford this treatment, so our medical partner, International Care Ministries, is requesting $1,464 in funding. This treatment will improve Angela's quality of life and help her gain confidence. Her mother says, "Being a mother, is it my happiness to see my children growing healthy and okay. This is what I want for my child, Angela. I want her to grow with confidence...I hope you will help my child please."

Thorn is a 40-year-old steel construction worker who is married and has three daughters and one son. He likes to relax at home in Cambodia, help his wife cook, and watch TV in his free time. In December of 2016, Thorn first came to our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), complaining of hip pain. He heard about CSC from a friend and traveled with his wife for three hours to get to the clinic. Thorn's initial pain was on his right side and then spread to both sides, making it difficult for him to walk. Surgeons at CSC successfully performed a total hip replacement surgery on his right side. Thorn feels better and experiences less pain on his right side. His wound has healed nicely. However, he still experiences hip pain on his left side. On January 9, surgeons at CSC will perform a total hip replacement on Thorn's left side to relieve him of pain. The requested $781 will cover all associated medical expenses, including Thorn's two-week stay at the hospital.

Maung Pay is a 25-year-old man from Burma. He lives in a village with his father, his stepmother, and his younger brother. His father owns a rubber plantation, and he also grows sesame. Maung Pay helps his father on the plantation, but he does not have any income of his own. In November, Maung Pay was in a motorcycle accident. He sustained many cuts from the tall grasses along the side of the road. Soldiers transported him to a nearby hospital, where the staff sutured his wounds but could not stop the bleeding. Muang Pay and his father crossed the border into Thailand to seek treatment from our medical partner’s care center, Mae Tao Clinic (MTC). Maung Pay was still bleeding when he arrived at the clinic. A medic examined his right foot and found two bone fractures. He stayed at MTC for three days before he was sent to our medical partner’s hospital, Mae Sot General Hospital, for an x-ray. The x-ray showed that his toes were broken, so the doctor inserted metal rods onto his toes. Maung Pay gained function in his foot, but he was still in pain. On December 22, Muang Pay underwent an internal fixation procedure to fully repair his fractured toes. Now, he needs help to pay his $1,500 medical bill. “If I am fully recovered, I would like to go back to work with my father and my stepmother,” says Muang Pay.

Bros is a 42-year-old farmer with three sons and one daughter. He likes to work on his rice field and watch TV. Early this year, Bros was in a motor vehicle accident, and he experienced right hip trauma. Since then, he has been in pain and has used crutches to move around. When Bros learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), he traveled for four hours with his son to reach CSC for treatment. On October 21, CSC surgeons performed a total hip replacement on his right hip. After recovery, he should be able to walk easily. Now, he needs help to fund this $781 procedure. "I hope that I can walk normally and without pain," says Bros.

Kyaw Mu is a 20-year-old man from Burma. Four months ago, Kyaw Mu started experiencing uncomfortable symptoms. Visits to different clinics and hospitals and the use of traditional medicine did not alleviate his discomfort. His symptoms have continued, and the pain often disturbs his sleep. With help from Watsi donors, Kyaw Mu underwent a CT scan to confirm an abnormal growth in his rectum area. At a Watsi medical partner's hospital, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, he will now undergo a surgery to remove the abnormal growth. Kyaw Mu shared, “I want to recover and find a job so that I can generate income for my family and pay back my debt."

Viviana is nine months old and the youngest of six kids. She lives with her parents and siblings in a one-room home made of cinder blocks with a tin roof in Guatemala. Viviana loves to play dolls with her older sisters while her father works as a fare collector on a bus, and her mother weaves traditional maya textiles. Although they want the best for their daughter, they live off only a few dollars per day, making it impossible to give Viviana even one piece of fruit, vegetable, or egg per day. Viviana's mother has noticed that her daughter is growing much slower than the other children in the community. When our community health worker visited Viviana's community, she noticed that Viviana was over two standard deviations below a normal size for her age--she had chronic severe malnutrition. This has happened because Viviana is not receiving the protein, calories, and nutrients she needs to grow normally, which has also left her immune system weak, and prevented her from developing normally both mentally and physically. If left untreated, her malnutrition could make her have a lower IQ in the short term, and greater risk for conditions such as diabetes and heart disease as an adult. Growth monitoring, micronutrient and food supplementation, and deworming medication will help Viviana recover from malnutrition--saving her life now and putting her on track to live a better life in the future. She will gain weight and grow taller to catch up with other children her age. Her immune system will grow stronger with the improved diet, increasing her appetite and helping her to develop mentally instead of wasting energy getting over frequent illnesses. Her parents will receive the educational support they need to feel empowered to give Viviana the right diet to grow and develop healthily. Intervention now will give Viviana the chance to live a healthy and productive life, finish school, get a good job, and escape the cycle of malnutrition and poverty that made her sick in the first place. Her mother shares, "We hope that she can overcome this sickness and grow healthy and be active. In the future, we want her to go to school and learn to weave."

Sreydav is a 16-year-old girl from Cambodia who studies Chinese. She has two sisters and one brother, all older than her. Sreydav enjoys reading books, cooking, and listening to music. Sreydav began experiencing the discharge of pus, pain, and hearing loss in her right ear when she was just one month old. These symptoms are caused by chronic otitis media--the continuous draining and perforation of the eardrum--which she has on both sides. The right ear is worse because it has developed a cholesteatoma--abnormal skin growth behind the eardrum--in addition to the perforated tympanic membrane. Sreydav needs a myringoplasty surgery to repair her perforated eardrums. First, however, she will also need a mastoidectomy on the right side to remove the skin growth and treat the infection. Sreydav traveled four hours by taxi with her mom to reach Children's Surgical Centre for this treatment, which will be possible with $809. The pain and discharge will stop after the operation and Sreydav's hearing may improve over time. Furthermore, Sreydav will be able to continue her studies and pursue the activities she enjoys without the hindrance of this condition.

Alais is a three-year-old boy who comes from a large polygamous family in Tanzania. Alais is a creative child; he likes to sing, clap his hands, and when he is seated alone outside he collects small stones and puts them all together in one place and pretends they are his cows. Alais was born with congenital bilateral clubfoot, a condition which has forced him to walk by using the lateral aspect of his feet. Alais needs proper treatment to correct his feet deformity so that he can walk properly without pain and difficulty and also have the ability to wear normal shoes. According to Alais’ mother, when Alais was still a baby she took him to the hospital and his feet were casted a number of times without successfully correcting the condition. Alais’ parents are livestock keepers earning enough to cover the day-to-day living expenses. The cost of Alais’ treatment is just too high for them to afford. With $1,160, Alias will receive the surgery he needs to realign the bones and ligaments in his feet and ankles so that his feet no longer point inward. This operation will allow him to stand and walk more easily so that he can grow up with greater mobility and independence. His mother says, "I just hope my son will be able to walk properly like other children."