Om is 87 years old. She is married and has two sons, one daughter, and ten grandchildren. In her free time, she likes to go to the pagoda to listen to the monks pray. One year ago, Om developed a cataract in each eye, causing her blurred vision, tearing, and photophobia. Om has trouble seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, and working on her own. When Om learned about our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre, she traveled for three hours to seek treatment. On April 26, doctors will perform a small incision cataract surgery and an intraocular lens implant in each eye. After recovery, Om will be able to see clearly again. Now, she needs help to fund this $292 procedure.

Seam is an 81-year-old grandmother from Cambodia. She is married with two sons, four daughters, and ten grandchildren. Seam enjoys listening to monks pray on the radio, reading books on Buddhism, and attending ceremonies at her local pagoda. About one year ago, Seam developed a cataract in each of her eyes, causing her blurred vision, tearing, cloudy lenses, and sensitivity to light. Her condition has made it difficult for her to see things clearly and go places by herself. On May 15, Seam will undergo surgery at Kien Khleang National Rehabilitation Centre, our medical partner's care center, where she will receive intraocular lens implants in each of her eyes to repair her vision. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is asking for $292 to cover the cost of her treatment. After her surgery, Seam will be able to see clearly again!

"I missed a lot of school last year because my heart made me too sick to go," shares 16-year-old Alex. "I'm excited for my surgery so that I can go back to school every day." Alex lives in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, with his parents, two sisters, and one brother. He is in the ninth grade and would like to go to college in the future. He enjoys listening to soccer games on the radio and spending time with his friends. Alex has a condition called severe rheumatic mitral regurgitation. The mitral valve of his heart became severely damaged by an infection and can no longer pump blood to the rest of his body. As a result, blood backs up into his heart, leading to heart failure. Alex needs open-heart surgery to either repair or replace the valve. Alex will fly to the Cayman Islands to receive treatment. On January 24, he will undergo cardiac surgery. This $12,000 surgery is subsidized by Have a Heart Cayman Islands, an organization that helps subsidize and provide life-saving heart surgeries to children from the Caribbean and around the world. Alex's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep. The $1,500 bill covers labs, medicines, and checkup and followup appointments. It also supports passport obtainment and the social workers from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Alex's family overseas.

Dorica is a 59-year-old woman from Malawi. Dorica lives with her husband, their five children, and six grandchildren who all help to work the family farm. Dorica spends most of her day doing chores, such as cooking and washing. In her spare time, she likes to chat with her friends and go to church. Since the beginning of this year, Dorica has been experiencing pain and heavy bleeding. She went to our medical partner’s care center, Nkhoma Hospital, where she was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Dorica needs a hysterectomy, a surgery that will remove all or part of the uterus. Once her surgery is complete, she is expected to be cancer-free and make a full recovery. The surgery is scheduled for February 28, and our medical partner, World Altering Medicine, is requesting $650 to fund the treatment. "I need this surgery and I give thanks to Watsi for making it possible," says Dorica.

Merlinda is a 51-year-old mother of four who lives in the Philippines. Her husband provides the majority of her family's income. However, Merlinda sometimes sells barbecue outside their home to supplement the household income. For over a year, Merlinda has experienced excessive blood loss due to gynecological problems, causing her headaches, body pains, leg cramps, and fatigue. These symptoms hinder her ability to take care of her home and children. If left untreated, the condition may cause Merlinda further complications. With the help of a health trainer from our medical partner, International Care Ministries (ICM), Melinda was diagnosed with uterine leiomyomas, tumors that arise from the overgrowth of smooth muscle and connective tissue in the uterus. ICM's head medic recommended Melinda for surgery. Melinda is scheduled for surgery on February 17. It will cost $187. Your donation will help pay for Melinda's labs, medication, hospital food, and a follow up consultation. The surgery will alleviate her symptoms and prevent any further complications. "I am so happy for the help and support," Melinda says. She adds, "If I will fully recover, I will help my husband earn for my family by looking for a job so we can both sustain the needs of our children so they can finish their education. Thank you so much for this great opportunity."

ChyHan is a five-month-old girl from Cambodia. She has two sisters and two brothers. She likes to stay at home with her mother. ChyHan was born with a nevus, or a raised birthmark, on her left lower and upper eyelids. Doctors predict that the nevus will grow as ChyHan grows. When ChyHan's parents learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), the family traveled for four hours to seek treatment. On December 8, surgeons at CSC removed the nevus and performed a skin graft procedure. This surgery will allow ChyHan to feel comfortable as she grows. CSC is requesting $450 to fund this treatment.

Naing Soe is a husband and father of two sons from a village in Burma. His older son just began kindergarten. In November, Naing Soe was riding his motorbike home from work when an oncoming truck forced him to swerve off the road. He hit a tree and lost consciousness. An ambulance brought Naing Soe to a nearby hospital, where staff sutured cuts on his jaw and head. Two days later, Naing Soe underwent x-rays on his head and left arm, which was broken. His doctor explained that he would probably experience a long-lasting headache and advised him to rest. Naing Soe left the hospital, knowing that the mounting medical bill was more than he could pay. When Naing Soe returned home, he used traditional medicine to treat his pain. Unfortunately, his symptoms persisted. Finally, he visited our medical partner’s hospital, where he underwent an internal fixation procedure to heal his arm on December 8. Naing Soe works as an agricultural day laborer, and he is the sole income earner in his family. After paying for his emergency treatments, the family is in debt. Naing Soe needs help to pay his $1,500 medical bill. “I hope that my condition will be cured soon,” he says, “so that I can go back to work.”

Reynald is 2-year-old and lives with his parents and six siblings in a small house made of scrap materials in the Philippines. His parents' source of income is from a small sari-sari store and struggle to feed the family with their earnings. Without proper nutrition, Reynald is thin and weak, suffering from moderately acute malnutrition. One out of five children under the age of five-years-old in communities of our medical partner International Care Ministries (ICM) are either severely or moderately acutely malnourished. Worldwide, poor nutrition is associated with nearly half of all deaths in young children. In remote communities and urban slums of the Philippines, the lack of clean water and unclean environments add risk to potentially fatal childhood diseases. ICM’s Home-Based Feeding program provides nutrient enriched food packs to ensure malnourished children get the additional food to regain normal weight, and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child being malnourished, staff and community volunteers make weekly visits to monitor this child’s progress. To help sustain the health of the child, ICM's professional staff educate the mother, guardian or other family members about proper nutrition, sanitation, hygiene and organic vegetable gardening.

Parash is an eight-month-old boy who lives with his parents and grandmother in Nepal. Being the only child in the family, he is pampered by everyone. His parents are farmers and the yield from their field is enough to feed the family for six months of the year. When the going gets tough, his dad goes to India to work as a laborer and returns when he saves enough money to support their family. It's been four days since baby Parash fell from the porch of his house and fractured his right femur. He has been crying in pain and his leg is swollen. Parash had difficulty moving and standing on his feet and finally his family decided to take medical help. They took an eight hour long jeep ride to reach Possible's hub - Bayalpata hospital. For $195, Parash will have a cast put on him to start the fracture healing process. "I wish my son gets his treatment soon," shares Parash's mother.

Meet Khun, a 64-year-old woman from Cambodia. “Khun is married with four sons, three daughters, and 20 grandchildren. She enjoys tending to her grandchildren and listening to monks pray," shares our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). Two years ago, Khun developed mature cataracts in each eye. A cataract occurs when a thin, cloudy layer forms over the eye’s lens. "This causes her blurred vision, discharge, tearing, and fear of bright lights. It is hard for her to see clearly, do work, or go anywhere outside," CSC explains. After learning about CSC, Khun and her son travelled two hours to visit their clinic. They learned that a simple surgical procedure may restore Khun's sight. With $292, Khun will undergo cataract surgery, during which her old lenses will be removed and replaced with sheer artificial implants, allowing her to see again immediately after her operation.