Byafandimu is a small scale farmer from Uganda. She is a widow and a mother to five children all are peasants, three married and one still single. Byafandimu lost the husband in1987 and she has been practicing small scale farming to support herself and children. For some time now, Byafandimu began to experience troubling symptoms, including disfigurement of the neck, shortness of breath and difficulty speaking. She was diagnosed with a goiter, an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Byafandimu receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on August 20th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $240, and she and her family need help raising money. Byafandimu says, “I am looking forward to being rid of the disfigurement and its symptoms."

Esther is a woman from Kenya. She has been diagnosed with breast cancer. Without treatment, the cancer may spread to other organs. A mastectomy, a surgery to remove breast tissue, has been suggested to rid her body of breast cancer and to prevent the cancer from metastasizing. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $816 to cover the cost of a mastectomy for Esther. The procedure is scheduled to take place on March 22. After treatment, Esther will hopefully return to a cancer-free life. Esther says, “My prayer is to live longer. I want to be a cancer warrior."