Meet Bhubendra, a five year-old boy from Nepal. “Bhubendra enjoys learning the English alphabet and playing with his sisters,” says our medical partner, Possible. Recently, “Bhubendra fell down from the porch of his house and fractured both the bones in his right hand," his doctor says. As expected, his hand is swollen and tender, and causes him a lot of pain. In the region of Nepal where Bhubendra lives, getting proper care is difficult for many people due to a lack of accessible first aid equipment and personnel. Bhubendra's parents brought him to Possible's clinic to ensure his injury receives necessary treatment. Still, Bhubendra's family is unable to afford the proper treatment for his broken hand. "It's difficult to finance Bhubendra's treatment for me," his father shares. "Me and my wife have five children to look after and we have only a farm to keep us going.” For $224, we can fund surgery and post-operative care that will heal Bhubendra's fracture. The treatment will ensure that Bhubendra's bones are aligned correctly, and a plaster cast will allow the fracture to heal properly. Bhubendra's doctors are very optimistic about this treatment, and believe that his hand will get back to normal and allow him to return to his active childhood.

Meet Thi Dar, a 43-year-old mother of four from Burma. “Thi Dar lives with her husband, three sons, and one daughter,” shares our medical partner, Burma Border Projects (BBP). “Her husband works as an agricultural day laborer, and she sells fried snacks outside of her house. Her oldest daughter is 12 years old and has had to stop school due to family financial problems. Her other three children are still studying in primary school.” Thi Dar has a uterine myoma, a noncancerous, fibrous growth within the tissue of the uterus. “Currently, Thi Dar has abdomen pain and body aches. She is worried about her condition and also worried about her financial problem,” reports BBP. “She has had to stop working and now depends on her husband’s salary, which isn’t enough to cover their living costs.” For $1500, Thi Dar will receive a total abdominal hysterectomy to remove her uterus and strengthen her pelvic floor, resolving her painful symptoms. This cost includes pre and post-surgical outpatient visits, hospitalization, transportation, and food. “Following treatment, Thi Dar should be able to go back to work selling snacks outside of the house, and she can take care of her children,” continues BBP. “She shouldn’t have any more abdominal pain or worries from her condition.” Thi Dar is eager to regain her strength. She tells us, “I want to get healthy and be able to support my family again.”

Twinomugisha is a 50-year-old woman who lives in Uganda with her husband and their seven children. Twinomugisha works as a casual laborer on local farms while her husband is a catechist at a local church. For the past 10 years, Twinomugisha has had a swollen neck due to a multinodular thyroid goiter. Originally, when her neck began to swell, she felt no pain or symptoms so she left it alone. "However, since March of this year, she began to experience severe pain in her neck radiating across her back," our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), shares. Her pain began to interfere with her ability to work or carry heavy objects, and now she "has heart palpitations whenever she works in the farm,” AMHF continues. “She loses sleep at night and gets severe pain whenever she is stressed or tired.” Despite visiting a local herbalist, Twinomugisha's condition hasn't improved, and she has hesitated to go to the hospital because of the cost. Finally, she visited a local hospital where she received her diagnosis. Twinomugisha needs to undergo a thyroidectomy to remove her thyroid. The procedure costs $170, and will allow her to return to normal life without pain and palpitations. “I wish I can be well soon and continue to work on my farm and help support my family,” shares Twinomugisha.