Ozlem Cebeci
Ozlem's Story

Ozlem joined Watsi on February 18th, 2015. 14 other people also joined Watsi on that day! Ozlem's most recent donation traveled 8,700 miles to support Esther, a baby girl from Tanzania, to fund brain surgery.

Impact

Ozlem has funded healthcare for 23 patients in 10 countries.

Patients funded by Ozlem

Patricia Ann, a three-year-old girl, lives with her parents and two siblings in a wooden rental house. She loves to play with her siblings and friends. Her mother is a housewife, and her father is a construction worker. Due to a lack of nutritious meals, Patricia Ann weighs less than other children her age. Patricia Ann has been diagnosed with moderately acute malnutrition. She began $184 malnutrition treatment on October 20. She is being treated by International Care Ministries (ICM), a Watsi medical partner. One out of five children under five in ICM communities is 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 additional food to regain normal weight and achieve optimum physical and mental development. After identifying a child as 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. "I wish she can finish her studies so that she can reach her dreams," says Patricia Ann's mother.

$184raised
Fully funded

23-year-old Zin Oo lives in Thailand with his wife, one-year-old daughter, four younger siblings, and his parents. They recently moved from Burma to Thailand three years ago seeking better job opportunities. Zin Oo's parents are no longer able to bring in an income, so his entire family depends on Zin Oo and his wife as the only source of financial support. Earlier this year, Zin Oo was in an accident while driving his motorbike to drop off a friend. Pieces of roofing from an unfinished construction site blew onto Zin Oo and his motorbike, causing him to crash into a small channel in the side of the road. The crash broke a bone in Zin Oo's lower leg, so he went to the local hospital where doctors were able to surgically secure his bone back into place with rods. Zin Oo was able to pay for this operation with the little savings he had working on a potato farm, but now he needs another surgery to remove the pins that the surgeons had used-- surgery he cannot afford. Zin Oo used to be able to save some money, but after his accident and visits to the hospital all the money that he saved is gone. Zin Oo can no longer work because of the pain and discomfort in his leg, so his wife now has to work most of the time as a day laborer. This sole income is not enough for even just everyday expenses. “It has been hard for the family since Zin Oo got in an accident because he is the one that the family depends on”, shares Zin Oo's mother. Zin Oo feels like he has become a burden on his wife and his family due to his leg condition. Let's help him raise $1500 for his operation so that he can complete the full procedure to heal his broken leg. After treatment and recovery, he will be able to walk again free of pain. Zin Oo and his family are very grateful for his treatment, and he is excited to return to supporting his family. “I want to recover quickly, continue my work and then I can help my family," Zin Oo shares.

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Meet Rin! This two-year-old lives in Cambodia with her parents and two siblings. Children of her age often love to explore the world around them with their sense of touch, learning to pick up objects, play with toys, and eat on their own. But Rin is only able to do that tactile exploring with one of her hands. “When Rin was 6 months old, three fingers of her left hand were burned by hot water,” explains our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). “The burn contracture that developed prevents full movement of that hand.” Contractures are the tightening and thickening of the skin or muscle surrounding a serious burn scar, and cannot heal without treatment. Rin needs to regain use of her hand so that she can eventually learn the many skills she will need to operate in the world independently. Fortunately, there is an operation that can make this possible. “Rin requires a release and skin graft surgery,” CSC says. In this two-part procedure, doctors will remove scar tissue from Rin’s burned hand, and replace the damaged skin with healthy skin from elsewhere on Rin’s body. “After the surgery she will regain the use of her left hand,” CSC reports. For $280, we can make this crucial operation happen for Rin. This sum will also cover the two-week hospital stay and ten days of physical therapy that the toddler will need to recover from her procedure. “I hope after surgery my daughter can use her hand properly again,” Rin’s mother shares. Let’s make that hope a reality.

$280raised
Fully funded

Soe is a 27-year-old woman who lives with her husband in Burma. Soe came to our medical partner, Burma Border Projects (BBP), seeking treatment for gallstones. The gallbladder—a small, pear-shaped organ that sits under the liver—stores and drains bile. When an individual has gallstones, bile drainage may be blocked, causing irritation, spasms, pain, nausea, and vomiting. “Soe is experiencing stomach and lower back pain making it difficult for her to sleep and eat,” BBP tells us. “Usually, when she eats, she feels nauseous and needs to vomit.” Until recently, Soe had a job as a waitress at a hotel restaurant in Thailand, but her symptoms made it impossible for her to work. Facing financial trouble, she and her husband returned to Burma in the hopes of finding treatment for Soe and receiving support from their family. For $1,500, Soe will undergo a laparotomy, a surgical procedure to access the abdominal cavity and remove the gallbladder. Funding also covers the costs of an eight-day hospital stay, transportation to and from the hospital, pre- and post-surgical consultations, and blood tests. “Soe should fully recover following her gallstone surgery,” says BBP. “She should be able to return to her family and again find a job so that she and her husband can save money for their future.” Soe looks forward to a successful operation. “I will work and save money for the next few years, and then, one day, we will have a happy family,” she shared in her pre-operative interview with BBP.

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Monica is a 17-year-old girl with dreams of starting her own business. “When I get better I would like to join a tailoring class and later on start my own tailoring business,” she told the staff at our partner hospital in Tanzania. Currently, Monica is struggling to complete her education in Tanzania due to genu valgus, a condition also known as “knock knees.” This means Monica’s knees bend inwards and touch when she is standing straight, and she “is unable to walk without knocking her knees,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). “She often feels pain in her right knee and when the pain is severe, Monica has to use crutches to move from one point to another." Monica has been dealing with this condition since she was in primary school. AMHF says, “The condition affected her ability to walk the long distance to school, and when the pain in her knee was severe she had to miss school.” She also had to stop participating in sports that she used to enjoy, like netball and her school’s marathon team. Monica’s parents earn income for their family of five by farming and running a small kiosk selling drinks and snacks. However, “Their income is not sufficient to cover the cost of their daily expenses as well as the operation which Monica needs,” reports AMHF. “If not treated, Monica will continue to be in pain and her gait will never improve.” Fortunately, for $940 Monica can receive the surgery, cast, and physical therapy necessary to heal her legs. After her operation, “Monica will be able to walk without knocking her knees,” and will thus have an “Improved gait and ability to efficiently perform various activities,” AMHF adds.

$940raised
Fully funded