Phyo is a two-year-old boy from Thailand. He lives with his parents and sisters and a brother in Fo Fai Village. His parents are originally from Bago Division in Burma and moved to Thailand in search of better job opportunities around 10 years ago. Both of his parents are agricultural day laborers. Phyo’s parents cannot afford to send him or his siblings to school and they are looked after by his six-year-old sister when his parents are working. Phyo was born a healthy baby boy at Mae Tao Clinic (MTC). In June 2019, Phyo’s mother noticed that both of Phyo’s testicles were swollen. At first she thought that the swelling was caused by an insect bite and that the swelling would come down on its own. However, the swelling never reduced. Busy with work and since Phyo did no complain of any pain and looked otherwise healthy, his mother did not take him to a clinic or a hospital. In the beginning of November 2019, his mother realized that his testicles were increasing in size and he was uncomfortable. His mother decided to have this checked and brought him to MTC in early November. When they arrived at the clinic, the medic completed a physical examination and gave him antibiotics. The medic also told Phyo’s mother that they could not treat him further because the medic was not completely sure what his diagnosis was. They were told that Phyo would need to receive an x-ray at Mae Sot Hospital (MSH) so that they could diagnose him properly. Since his mother did not have enough money to pay for the x-ray and she had work she had to do at home, she brought Phyo back to their village. At home, Phyo took the antibiotics the medic had given him, which seemed to reduce the size of his testicles. However, on April 7th, 2020, Phyo’s mother noticed that his swelling was increasing in size again and that he could not pass urine nor stool; she became worried when she noted that he ate and drank a lot the whole day. The next day, his mother asked her pastor if they could take them back to MTC, as she did not have enough money to pay for transportation. Their pastor agreed to help them and drove them to the clinic. At MTC Phyo received a physical examination and the medic explained to Phyo’s mother that he might have a hernia. The medic diagnosed him with incarcerated inguinal hernia and told them that he would need to receive surgery at the nearby hospital. Phyo has an inguinal hernia and currently cannot pass urine nor stool. He cannot walk or stand for the past two days as his swelling is severe and uncomfortable. Fortunately, on April 8th, he will undergo hernia repair surgery at Mae Sot General Hospital, our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund Phyo's hernia repair surgery. The procedure is scheduled to take place on April 8th and, once completed, will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably. Phyo's mother said, “I feel very stressed and worried about my son. I can’t help him any further as I don’t have money. His father has also not come back since he went back to Burma [a month ago to take care of his sick parents]. I cannot work and I have no income as we have less work during this time of the year. Sometimes our neighbors have to give us a meal. Now I have a debt of 600 baht (approx. 20 USD) already from my neighbor, without interest.”

Ngasitae and his uncle have travelled over 700km to our facility seeking healthcare. Ngasitae was diagnosed with ARM days after birth, a condition where he was born without an anal opening. A colostomy was in put in place to aid his bowel movement in a hospital in Turkana. Since access to specialized care is limited in his village, the standard treatment of surgery to create an opening was never done.   Recently a well-wisher visiting their village came across Ngasitae and advised his parents to seek help from Watsi Partner BethanyKids in Kijabe where they would be assisted financially. It was decided that Ngasitae’s uncle who knows a bit of Swahili would accompany him. Upon diagnosis and considering the proximity of his village and costs involved, the doctors have recommended immediate admission for surgery to create an anal opening. Unfortunately, Ngasitae's family is not able to meet the cost of surgery. They sold a few goats to raise the transport expenses to the hospital. Ngasitae’s mother is a stay-at-home mom while his father has three camels that he fetches luggage and water for the locals for a fee. Ngasitae and his siblings are yet to join the school as it is several miles away from home. “Our place is very arid. Nothing grows as we have no water. The few goats his father had were sold out for us to get here. We wish to get assistance for our young boy,” says Ngasitae’s uncle.

Joseph is a young boy from Tanzania. He is the fifth born child in a family of 7 children and also comes from a polygamous family and has 10 siblings inclusive of his step-siblings. His parents are small scale farmers in Northern Tanzania. His father often traverses into Kenya to sell Masai herbal medicine to supplement income and meet the daily demands of his big family. When Joseph was two years old, he slipped by boiling tea in his mother's hut. He suffered burns on his right hand and right side of his head. He spent several months in the hospital recuperating from the burns. Unfortunately, he healed with contractures on his right hand that has limited his ability to use his right hand. Joseph had surgery in October to release his wrist and now he needs to have another surgery to have his fingers released. Joseph is struggling to write in his class one studies due to contractures on his right hand. He has to learn how to write with his left hand. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Joseph receive treatment. On January 7th, surgeons at their care center will perform a burn contracture release surgery to he will be able to use his hand and even move his fingers independently. Now, he needs help to fund this $832 procedure. Joseph says, “I like how my hand looks now, and I am able to use my hand to carry things. I hope that if I get another surgery it will look more okay.”

Sharon is a 22 year old from Singore Village in Kenya. She is social, friendly and loves music. Sharon is the 2nd born together with her twin sister in a family of 5 children. She is currently enrolled at Eldoret Technical Training Institute pursuing a medical record course with her sister. Sharon's mother is a farmer and her father a carpenter. Sharon had a normal birth but at a young age she couldn’t walk and her knee was stiff. She previously underwent surgery 16 years ago, but she has never improved and is still walking with a lot of difficulties. Sharon currently limps as she walks and feels pain as she strains to move. Her self esteem has also been affected and sometimes while in college she gets imitated by her colleagues in school. Sharon is scheduled to undergo surgery on her right knee. This treatment will be of great help to her as she will be able to walk without any difficulty. Her self esteem will improve and she will continue with her dream career of becoming a record officer in a hospital. Sharon and her family are not able to raise the estimated bill and thus requested for support saying, "my desire is to walk well like my sister without straining. Any kind of support purposed to make/ improve my walking is highly appreciated.”

In May 2019, Kimlong fell out of a tree, fracturing his right elbow. Since his accident, his injuries have not healed properly and he is not able to move his elbow without difficulty. Treatment will help to realign Kimlong's bone near his elbow joint to make sure they heal properly. Kimlong's favorite subject in school is math, and he enjoys playing soccer, reading books, and watching television in his free time.

Zin is a 37-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her husband, son and two daughters in Myawaddy, Karen State. Her 17-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter go to school while her youngest daughter stays home as she is still very young. To make a living, Zin used to make different Burmese snacks and sell them at the nearby villages. But she recently stopped working due to her health condition. Sometimes, her husband works as a day labourer but Zin said she does not know how much he earns from that. Six months ago, Zin started to experience stomach-ache so she went to a clinic. The doctor there did not do any investigations, instead, just prescribed her oral medication. Although Zin felt better with the medications she received at the clinic, her symptom returned after two months and she went back to see the same doctor. The doctor again prescribed her medications, but they only relieved her symptoms for a short time. In early September, Zin felt like her stomach-ache has worsened. She had it more often and the medications that she received at the clinic did not help her anymore. On 12 September 2019, Zin had a severe stomach-ache and for the last time, she returned to see the same doctor. On this visit, the doctor performed an ultrasound and said that there are stones in her common bile duct (CBD), a duct that carries bile from the gallbladder and liver into the duodenum (upper part of the small intestine). Zin has been advised to undergo a biliary obstruction repair, a procedure to repair the blockage of the bile ducts, which carry bile from the liver to the gallbladder. If left untreated, Zin's symptoms will continue to worsen and put her at risk for further health complications in the future. After seeking treatment through our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), Zin is scheduled to undergo her biliary obstruction repair on October 03. BCMF is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of Zin's procedure and care. Zin said, “I cannot do anything now. I want to get well soon and start working again. If not, my family will not have enough food”.