Polette is a 58-year-old woman from Haiti. She has a daughter and two sons. They live together, along with Polette's mother and brother. Polette works as a street merchant to support her family. In November of 2015, Polette noticed a small mass in one of her breasts. Polette visited the doctor and was diagnosed with breast cancer. In August of 2016, Polette began chemotherapy treatment at St. Luc Family Hospital, our medical partner's care center. To ensure the cancer is completely gone, Polette has decided to undergo mastectomy surgery. Polette will undergo surgery on March 17 at St. Luc Family Hospital. Our medical partner, Innovating Health International, is asking for $1,085 to cover the cost of her surgery, medication, and labs. After her operation, Polette is looking forward to going back to work and helping her children pursue their academic endeavors.

Asiimwe is a 51-year-old father of three boys and three girls. He is a farm manager, but he has difficulty supporting his family. His wife is unemployed. In 2015, Asiimwe developed a painful swelling in his right inguinal region. He didn’t have money for the hospital, so he resorted to using herbal medicine. He became unable to lift heavy items and walk long distances. A friend of his advised him to seek assistance from our medical partner's care center, Holy Family Virika Hospital. At the hospital, Asiimwe was diagnosed with a right inguinal hernia and was advised to have hernia repair surgery. He will undergo surgery on January 24 for $249. After surgery, Asiimwe hopes to continue working to support his family.

Alicia is a 48-year-old mother of five. She lives with her husband, who works as a farm laborer, and with her two grandchildren. Her husband is the sole earner for the family. For one year, Alicia had been experiencing irregular menstruation, lower abdominal pain, lightheadedness, weakness, and shortness of breath. These symptoms all hinder her ability to perform daily household activities. Alicia is a member of a community sponsored by our medical partner, International Care Ministries (ICM). She was able to undergo laboratory tests and was cleared to have surgery. Alicia will undergo a hysterectomy to remove her uterus on February 2. However, her family cannot afford the surgery, so ICM is requesting $187. After this procedure, she will be free of pain and able to get back to her daily life. "I am so thankful for this opportunity. I am hoping that I will be well and no longer experience excessive bleeding. I am excited to have the surgery," says Alicia.

Eunice is a 66-year-old woman from Kenya. In January, she fell from a moving motorcycle taxi and fractured her left shoulder. She received first aid from a nearby hospital. Later, Eunice was referred to our medical partner's hospital, AIC Kijabe Hospital, for further treatment. She underwent a closed reduction procedure on her dislocated shoulder. Unfortunately, the procedure was unsuccessful, and Eunice returned complaining of pain. X-ray results revealed that her shoulder was still dislocated. Eunice has been unable to tend to her farm or complete any household chores. Without treatment, she risked continuing pain, a fracture malunion, or disability. Fortunately, on December 16, she underwent an open reduction internal fixation procedure to heal her fracture. Eunice and her husband are farmers. Eunice takes care of four of her grandchildren. The family lives in a three-roomed house. They cannot afford healthcare, so our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $640 in funding. "I want to get well and resume my duties of providing for my grandchildren," says Eunice.

Pich is a 44-year-old farmer with four sons and one daughter. He likes to watch the news on TV and listen to old songs on the radio. In November 2016, Pich fell from his motorbike and dislocated his left shoulder. He was in pain and unable to work. When Pich learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), he traveled for five hours to seek treatment. On December 1, surgeons at CSC performed an open reduction internal fixation procedure on Pich's shoulder. After recovery, he will be able to use his left arm easily. Now, CSC is requesting $411 to fund this surgery. "I hope that I can work again to support my family," says Pich.

Zyre is an 11-month-old boy from the Philippines. He is a funny and friendly boy who loves to play with his older brother. He lives with his parents in their employer's house, where his parents are caretakers. Zyre has been diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. He began $268 malnutrition treatment on October 19. Zyre 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. "If our sons are healthy, then we are happy." shares Zyre's mother.

"Sreang is a 68-year-old farmer married with seven daughters and 10 grandchildren," our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), tells us. "She enjoys listening to the monks praying and listening to news on the radio." "Sreang developed a cataract in each eye four years ago. This causes her blurred vision, photophobia, and pain. She can't see anything clearly, do work well, or get around easily on her own," CSC reports. Cataracts are a common cause of preventable blindness in Cambodia and often go untreated. People in rural areas are especially likely to go without care. Hoping to treat her cataracts and prevent blindness, Sreang traveled five hours with her brother to reach CSC's treatment center. For $292, she'll receive cataract surgery in both eyes. Surgeons will remove the old, cloudy lenses in her eyes and replace them with implants, allowing her to see clearly once again.

Eight year-old Gerald lives with his grandparents in Uganda. Both of his parents passed away when he was one year old. Gerald has had a hernia for more than half his life -- six years. When he was smaller it wasn’t too bad, but recently it has been causing him more and more pain and making it difficult to do his daily activities. Gerald is not in school yet, but his grandparents hopes to save enough money to pay his school fees. When he is not in pain, Gerald enjoys playing soccer and helping his grandmother by fetching water and washing the dishes. His favorite foods are “matoke” (cooked bananas) and beans. $208 will fund the hernia repair surgery that Gerald needs to recover and avoid long-term complications. Gerald’s grandmother would like to say thanks to all the donors helping with Gerald’s surgery. “With five children at home it is expensive to take care of them all," she shared. "We didn’t have the money for surgery. This is a blessing.”