Htee is a 10-year-old girl from Burma. She lives with her family in a refugee camp in Mae Hong Son province, Thailand. Htee and her two siblings were born and raised in the camp. Her parents met and married there after relocating in 2006 due to conflicts between armed groups in their village. Htee’s mother is a homemaker, while her father works as a day laborer. She is currently enrolled in the camp school and is in Grade 5. Additionally, Htee's four cousins live with the family and also attend school. In her free time, Htee enjoys playing with her brother and friends. For two days, Htee has been experiencing troubling symptoms, including severe pain at right lower part of abdominal, high fever, vomiting and lethargy. She is currently admitted at Mae Sariang Hospital, where she was diagnosed with appendicitis. She needs urgent surgery to prevent her condition from getting worse. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is helping Htee receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo an appendectomy, a surgery to remove the appendix when it becomes infected, on April 20th, at Mae Sariang Hospital. This procedure will cost $1500, and Htee and her family need your support. Htee’s father said, “My daughter is an active child. She loves to go to school and never missed attendance. Now she is in severe pain, and I hope that she gets better after treatment.”

Zilpah is a mother to six children and lives in the Philippines. Zilpah creates handmade accessories and sells rosary bracelets, and her husband is a caretaker. Together, they provide for the family's daily needs and their children's school expenses. They have lived for about ten years in housing provided by her husband’s employer. She maintains an active and healthy lifestyle, walking two kilometers every day to take her children to school and back. Three months ago, Zilpah began to experience troubling symptoms, including loss of voice, persistent coughing, and throat pain. She was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. She needs surgery to remove the cancer and to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Fortunately, our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines (WSFP), is helping Zilpah receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy (removal of part or all of the thyroid gland) on March 20th at Our Lady of Peace Hospital. A portion of the cost of her treatment is being supported by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and WSFP is raising the remaining $935 to cover the cost of Zilpah's procedure and care. Zilpah says "I look forward to regaining my strength so I can continue caring for my children and supporting my family. Being healthy again will allow me to keep working and sharing life with them."

Joshua is a 12-year-old boy from Tanzania. He lives with his parents, who are livestock keepers, and is one of five children in the family. Joshua is currently in middle school and is described as a bright and responsible child. He enjoys completing his homework and helping care for animals after school. Joshua dreams of becoming a politician when he grows up. For the last three years, Joshua has experienced limited hand movement, making tasks such as writing, feeding himself, and helping with household chores difficult. His doctors recommend an amputation of Joshua's left hand, which has a burn scar with contractures involving multiple fingers. This will prevent his symptoms from getting worse as he grows. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $1,088 to fund Joshua's surgery on February 17th. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully help improve his health and quality of life. After recovering, Joshua is looking forward to improved hand function that will enable him to regain independence in daily activities and continue developing his leadership potential without physical barriers. Joshua's father says, “He cannot grip objects well because some fingers are damaged and tight from the scar.”

Clamson is a young student from Haiti. He lives with his parents and younger sister in a city in northern Haiti. He likes going to kindergarten and to church. Clamson has a cardiac condition called a ventricular septal defect. A hole exists between the two lower chambers of his heart; blood leaks through this hole without passing through his lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving him weak and short of breath. Clamson will fly to the Dominican Republic to receive treatment. On January 22nd, he will undergo cardiac surgery, during which surgeons will sew a patch over the hole in his heart so that blood can no longer leak through it. Our medical partner, International Cardiac Alliance, is contributing $5000.00 to pay for surgery. Clamson's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep. They need help raising $1,500 to cover labs, medicines, and check-up and follow-up appointments. It also supports securing travel documents for the family and travel costs for the social workers from our medical partner, who will accompany Clamson's family overseas. Clamson's mother shared, "Our family has been praying for this surgery ever since we found out about our son's heart problem. We are glad the time has finally arrived!"

Esther is a 16-year-old girl from Uganda. She was born healthy, and met all of her early developmental milestones, until it was time for her to begin speaking. At first, her parents believed her speech was simply delayed. However, as the months passed, it became clear that Esther was unable to develop speech like other children. By the age of three, although she appeared aware of the people around her, it was evident that she could not perceive sound. Esther's parents longed to hear her speak, and sought help from several hospitals. Unfortunately, financial constraints made it impossible for them to afford the care she needed. As a result, Esther was enrolled in a special school, where she learned sign language, and adapted remarkably well. She is now preparing to enter Grade 9 when school resumes. Esther’s sister shares that she loves writing, and dreams of becoming a teacher one day. Recently, Esther was brought to our medical partner's care center, AIC Kijabe Hospital, where medical evaluations confirmed significant hearing loss. Doctors recommended hearing aids that would enable her to hear, to communicate more easily, and which would significantly improve her quality of life. However, the cost of the hearing aids is far beyond the family’s means. Esther’s parents rely on small-scale farming for survival in Uganda, where the family lives, while her elder sister is the primary breadwinner, selling clothes to support the household. With hearing aids, Esther would have a real opportunity to experience a fuller, more independent life, and to pursue her dream of becoming a teacher. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is asking for help to raise $1,171 so Esther can be fitted with hearing aids on December 19th. Esther’s sister said: “She loves writing and helping other children, both at school and at home. I know that being able to hear would make a big difference in her life.”

Aung is a 42-year-old man from Burma. He lives by himself in a refugee camp in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand. He is unemployed, and the community provides him with free accommodation, food, and basic healthcare, as he has no relatives to look after him. Sometimes he weeds by hand in someone’s yard for some money. Aung underwent a colostomy, in which the end of the colon is brought through an opening in the abdominal wall. This surgery is often performed to bypass bowel malformations, but colostomies are usually temporary and may call for reversal. In Aung's case, his colostomy requires reversal to restore bowel function and prevent future complications. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), is requesting $1,500 to cover the cost of a reverse colostomy for Aung. The surgery is scheduled to take place on November 11th and, once completed, will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably and confidently. Aung said, “When the doctor talked about the treatment cost, I felt sad, and I decided not to undergo the treatment since I have nothing, and I cannot afford it. But when I know that BCMF and donors are going to support my treatment, I feel happy. When I recover, I am going to find a job and earn money to support myself.”