Allan is a primary student from Kenya. He is a confident, outgoing 15-year-old boy. The family lives in the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya. Allan’s mother earns income through farming and laundry. For a year, Allan has had a right inguinal hernia. The hernia is causing him sharp groin pain and discomfort. Fortunately, on November 16, he will undergo repair surgery at our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $423 to fund Allan's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably. “I would like to be a lawyer and I am working towards it. I will change my mother’s life in a good way and help people out,” shares Allan.

Kosal is currently ten years old and in the fifth grade. At home, he has two older brothers. Like any boy his age, he enjoys watching TV, reading books, and playing games. When he was five years old, Kosal developed an infection in his left ear. He did not receive treatment, and eventually the infection to spread to his right ear. He has now been diagnosed with chronic otitis media, or inflammation in his middle ear, which has caused both of his eardrums to rupture. As a result, he commonly experiences fluid discharge from his ears, hearing loss, and tinnitus, or the perception of a ringing or buzzing sound in the easr. After finding out about the care that our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), could provide, Kosal and his mother traveled over three hours by taxi so that he could have surgery at CSC on August 30, 2016. There, ENT surgeons successfully performed a myringotomy procedure in Kosal's right ear to treat the infection and drain the fluid in the middle ear. On his left side, however, a cholesteatoma, or abnormal skin growth, has formed. Kosal is scheduled to undergo another procedure on January 5. Our medical partner, CSC, is requesting $842 to pay for the required mastoidectomy surgery to remove the chloesteatoma. Kosal hopes to continue school without any hearing problems. He says, "I hope that I can hear clearly because I want to become a teacher."

Anjerika, a 54-year-old woman from Uganda, has had a hernia for seven years. Her condition-- in which a portion of her intestine bulges through an opening in the abdominal wall-- causes her pain that has kept her from working and prevented her from walking to her garden to pick food. Anjerika is a widow, and lives with her 32-year-old son. Both of them are subsistence farmers, growing maize, bananas, and rice. When she is feeling well and finishes her work at home, Anjerika likes to join the other women at her church to help with community cleaning. When she is at church, she forgets all about her problems and pain. Anjerika also enjoys singing in the church choir and weaving mats. For $208, Anjerika can receive hernia repair surgery, during which doctors will return the herniated intestinal tissue to her abdominal cavity and mend the opening in the abdominal wall. Though she cannot afford the total cost of the surgery, Anjerika has contributed $8 for her treatment. When she gets well, Anjerika is looking forward to growing enough food for her family and selling the surplus. With the extra money that she makes, she hopes to renovate her house. Anjerika would like to say thank you to all the donors helping to fund her operation.

Choeun is an 82-year-old grandfather from Cambodia. Choeun, who is married with one son, three daughters, and eight grandchildren, developed a cataract in each eye one year ago. Cataracts occur when the lens inside the eye becomes cloudy, which causes decreased vision and functional blindness. Choeun is a patient with our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), and CSC explains that the cataracts have caused him blurred vision and tearing. $225 funds cataract surgery that will remove the cloudy lenses from both of his eyes and replace them with artificial lenses. Funding for his surgery includes post-operative care, and after the surgery, he will be able to see clearly again. Choeun enjoys reading Buddhist literature and visiting the pagoda. After surgery, he can resume these activities he enjoys.

“70-year-old Seang is married with two sons, three daughters, and nine grandchildren,” our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), tells us. Seang lives in Cambodia and “enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to the monks pray and taking care of her grandchildren.” “Seang developed a cataract in each eye one year ago,” CSC explains. “This causes her blurred vision, tearing, irritation, and she is afraid of sunshine.” Cataracts occur when a cloudiness develops on the lens of the eye, causing these symptoms that can drastically affect the quality of a person's life. Seang and her daughter traveled three hours to reach CSC for medical care. The procedure she needs consists of replacing the cloudy lens with a clear, artificial lens that will help her see clearly. Her surgery and artificial implants cost $225. After this brief procedure, Seang will have fully restored vision. She will be able to return to her daily life without discomfort.

"It is hard for me to do any work and travel anywhere. I can't recognize faces easily," says Hun, a 60-year-old wife and grandmother who farms rice in Cambodia. “Three years ago, Hun developed a cataract in each eye,” explains our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). “She is afraid of the bright sun and has blurred vision.” A cataract is a thickened, cloudy lens. Over time, the altered lens loses its ability to focus light properly, resulting in blurry or dull vision and difficulty seeing faraway objects. Cataracts account for 50 percent of all cases of blindness worldwide, and formation typically occurs in both eyes, as Hun is experiencing. $225 will cover the cost of surgery to remove the cloudy lenses from both of Hun’s eyes and replace them with artificial lenses. Funding for Hun’s treatment also includes post-operative follow-up care. After surgery, “Hun will have improved vision and regained independence,” CSC tells us. "I hope I can see everything better than now,” says Hun, who is eager to return to work at the farm and go to the pagoda by herself to listen to the monks pray. “I won't have to worry so much anymore."

“I can't recognize faces of my friends and family, or go walking easily anywhere by myself,” shares Lim. With cataracts in both eyes, Lim experiences blurred vision and a fear of bright lights, especially the sun. Lim is 78 years old and lives in Cambodia. "She is married with two sons and six grandchildren,” says our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). “She spends her time doing work around the house, visiting the pagoda, and listening to the monks pray." For $225, Lim will undergo surgery to remove the cataract in each of her eyes -- replacing the clouded lenses with artificial ones. “After the procedure, Lim will be able to see everything better than before and she will not be at risk of becoming blind,” says CSC. Lim adds: “After treatment, I want to spend time taking care of my grandchildren at home."

“My dream career is to become a doctor,” shares Stacy. Stacy is an eight-year-old girl from Kenya. After six months of experiencing severe headaches and instability when walking, she was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Her symptoms are "causing her to miss school frequently," reports our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). "This has caused her class performance to deteriorate drastically." Stacy lives with her older sibling and parents, who operate a small family business. “Stacy’s parents have sought medical care at different hospitals without success,” AMHF continues. “If surgery is not done, Stacy could suffer increased cranial pressure and eventually death.” $1,260 will fund a craniotomy to remove the tumor. “I pray for a successful surgery,” shares Stacy. “This will enable me to go back to school.”

"I would like to see Safina’s life improve and maybe one day she can go to school," Safina’s mother shares. Meet Safina, a three-year-old-girl from Tanzania. She is the lovely, smiley and happy first-born child of her young parents. Safina has one baby brother and she is quite caring of him. Safina's parents own a small store in their village. Safina has an open myelomeningocele. This means, Safina’s backbone and spinal canal were unable to close before birth and therefore the membranes and the spinal cord have protruded. African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), our medical partner, explains, “Safina is unable to walk or to manage her bowels or bladder.” For $1,100, we can fund the surgery to close the opening in Safina’s back. AMHF expects that closing the defect in Safina's spine will prevent further disability and that she will be able to use a wheelchair to move around. Let's support her!

This is Naomi, a 43-year-old Kenyan woman. Naomi is married with six children. Three of her children have finished high school and work as casual laborers on people's farms in the area, while the other three are still in school. Naomi and her husband work as casual laborers doing whatever job is available to be able to make ends meet. Naomi has chronic cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder). As a result, she lives with constant vomiting, heart burn, severe back pain, and jaundice. For $1200, we can fund a laparoscopic cholecystectomy for Naomi. This will pay for part of the treatment, medication and hospitalization that Naomi will receive. We expect that after the surgery, Naomi will be able to continue working and taking care of her family. Let's fund this procedure and help Naomi live without the pain of an inflamed gallbladder!

Meet Janfor, a 24-year-old high school graduate from the Philippines. Janfor lives with his parents and younger brother. He loves to cook and help his family meet their needs. Janfor lives with an uncomfortable medical condition called varicocele, which is the abnormal enlargement of veins in the groin. The pain from this condition is so severe that Janfor had to stop working. He can no longer provide for his family. For $330, Janfor will receive a surgery that will remove the varicose veins and finally relieve Janfor of the pain he has been enduring. Let’s help Janfor get back to cooking and supporting his family!

Luis is a two-year-old from Guatemala who is battling malnourishment. He is below normal height and weight for his age, and fighting off frequent infections as a result of his condition. Luis' family would love to see him develop normally, but they often struggle to make ends meet and cannot provide him with the nutrition he needs. We can turn this around. For $525, we can fund Luis' intensive nutritional therapy. His doctor at our medical partner, Wuqu' Kawoq, expects that this treatment will get Luis back on the right track and give him the ability to achieve his full potential. Let's help Luis grow up healthy!