Rean is a 54-year-old rice farmer and grandfather who lives in Cambodia. He's married with six children and four grandchildren. He likes to watch the news on TV and listen to monks pray on the radio. About a year ago, Rean developed a cataract in each eye, causing him blurred vision and extreme sensitivity to light. It's hard for him to go out on his own, recognize faces, or do work. Cataracts are very common in Cambodia and are one of the leading causes of blindness in adults. Fortunately, on October 27, Rean underwent cataract surgery with our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre. Surgeons removed the cloudy lenses in his eyes and replaced them with new, clear implants. Now, Rean needs help to fund this $292 procedure. "I hope my eyes can see more clearly," he says, "so that I can continue my work in the fields and easily go anywhere outside by myself."

Meet Fadumo, an 18-year-old girl from Somalia. She is the first-born of nine children. Eight years ago, Fadumo was milking her father's goat when she sustained a head injury. Since then, frequent seizures, headaches, and medical travel have caused her difficulty in school. She cannot bend over to perform household tasks. Fadumo has visited several hospitals in Addis Ababa and Hargesia without success. At one point, she was even told that there are no treatment plans for girls in Africa. Finally, a missionary referred Fadumo to our medical partner's hospital in Kenya, AIC Kijabe Hospital. Fadumo and her father journeyed to Kenya, where they stayed with a host family of the same religion. Fadumo learned that she had a mucocele, or a mucus-filled mass, in her sinus. Without treatment, the mucocele would increase in size, putting Fadumo at risk of vision loss. She would also continue to experience seizures and headaches. Fortunately, on October 25, 2016, doctors performed a craniotomy to remove the mucocele. Fadumo’s father teaches religion, and her mother is a housewife. The family lives in traditional Somali temporary houses. They are unable to pay for Fadumo's $1,495 treatment––which includes surgical costs, medications, and hospital stay––so they need our help. “I want to be well to provide for my parents and get a quality education to help needy people at home," says Fadumo.

Tumusiime is a 25-year-old driver from Uganda. He is married, and the father of a five-month-old boy. He is a driver, but the salary is not enough for his family needs. He is would like to buy a bigger piece of land and to build a decent house. A year ago, Tumusiime developed a painful swelling in his right inguinal region. Due to the pain, he is unable to lift heavy items or dig. Tumusiime visited a hospital where he was diagnosed with hernia, given medicine and advised to go back for surgery. However, he didn’t go back because he couldn’t afford to pay for his treatment. If left untreated, Tumusiime may suffer many complications. For $249, Tumusiime will undergo the hernia repair surgery he needs. After surgery, Tumusiime hopes to continue working as a driver and take on additional so he can save money and be self-reliant. “After surgery I hope to continue working as a driver,” Tumusiime shared.

Phen is a 73-year-old married man from Cambodia. He has three sons, three daughters, and ten grandchildren. In his free time, he likes to go to the pagoda to listen to monks pray and to read books. Phen heard about the Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), a Watsi medical partner, from a person in his village who had surgery there before. He traveled for four hours with his grandchildren to reach CSC for treatment. Phen developed a cataract in each eye about three years ago, causing blurred vision. This makes it difficult for him to see things clearly, do any work, and go places on his own. Phen will undergo a phacoemulsification procedure, to break up and remove the cataracts, and an intraocular lens (IOL) implant in each eye. This will improve his vision. $292 will cover the costs of the surgery and care Phen needs. Phen says, "I hope I can see everything more clear than now so that I can easily read any book and I can go to the pagoda and go anywhere outside without needing to disturb others to take care of me."

Meet Nallely, a 10-month-old girl from Guatemala. Nallely has two older siblings and lives with her parents in a humble adobe house with a tin roof. She loves to listen to music and dance. Nallely's mother cooks, manages the kids, and attends to the house. Nallely is below the average height and the average weight for her age due to acute malnutrition. She currently is not consuming enough calories and enough quality foods. As a result her physical growth is stunted, and we worry her mental growth will be stunted as well. As a result of food insecurity and marginalization, indigenous Guatemalan villages have the highest rates of stunting in the world. In addition to growth stunting, malnutrition can lead to lower IQ, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. $512 will fund the treatment Nallely needs to address her nutritional deficit and improve her low energy and subsequent limited mental potential. This involves micronutrient and food supplementation, deworming medication to rid Nallely of a parasitic infection, and nutrition education for her parents. With these combined efforts, Nallely will recoup her weight and height and strengthen her immune system, laying the foundation for a healthier future.

Sunita is a 12-year-old girl living in Nepal with her father, step-mother, and little brother. According to our medical partner, Possible, “Because her parents were unable to accompany her to the hospital, she came here with her maternal uncle. She studies in grade five and enjoys reading Nepali stories. She has a few good friends, and they always play volleyball together in the evenings. Besides helping with chores at home, she also helps her little brother with his studies.” “Sunita was collecting firewood for her house when she lost her balance,” Possible explains. “She then tripped and ended up fracturing her arm. She has been in a lot of pain since, and her arm has considerably swollen too.” $224 will cover the cost of an orthopedic repair for Sunita’s fracture. This procedure, with the help of physiotherapy, will allow Sunita to move about and return to all of the activities that he could do before the accident. "She's had a difficult childhood because her mother was not with her,” said Sunita’s uncle, “I hope her arm is fixed soon so that she can go about her daily life."

“Iqra is just four months old from the coastal region of Kenya,” our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), tells us. “The last born in a family of five, Iqra has had sleepless nights due to the pressure on his brain due to the excess fluid in his head. His mother is a stay at home mother while the father is a motorbike transport operator who earns an average of $4 a day.” At only four months old, Iqra has congenital hydrocephalus. This means that he has inherited a condition causing his brain to drain the fluid around it improperly. Hydrocephalus occurs when the fluid builds up, causing the head to increase in size and pressure on the brain. “Iqra has been experiencing high intra-cranial pressure which, if untreated, is likely to cause damage to his brain, eyes and potentially result in death,” reports AMHF. To prevent any of the serious consequences, Iqra needs surgery to correct the drainage problem. Doctors from AMHF will insert a small shunt into the base of Iqra’s brain, therefore allowing the excess fluid to drain out of his brain and into other body cavities where it can readily be absorbed. This will decrease the pressure on his brain and allow his head to return to normal size. “Since my son’s head started swelling I had to stop working to accompany his mother to and from the hospital, missing the chance to earn money to support my family,” explains Iqra’s father. With $615 in Watsi funding, Iqra will receive the surgery and be able to cover the costs of pre-operative care, surgery, a five day hospital stay, and medicines. The surgery is important to stabilize Iqra’s intracranial pressure, preventing the serious consequences such as blindness and death.

Ten-year-old Bikash lives with his family in Nepal. “Bikash studies in the first standard,” our medical partner, Possible, tells us. “He loves studying English and riding his bicycle. His dad works in India and his mom looks after the family at home.” “Bikash was riding his bicycle with his friends when they lost their balance and tripped,” explains Possible. “While his friend did not suffer much injury, Bikash ended up fracturing his left arm. The area of injury has swollen considerably and Bikash has been in constant pain.” The injury is now interfering with Bikash’s studies. “He had his exam today, and he missed it because of his injury,” his mother tells us. “I hope he’s allowed to sit for it later, otherwise he will miss one whole year." To help the arm heal, doctors have recommended Bikash have surgery to realign the fractured bones into their normal positions. Doctors will make an incision to set the bones properly and then use wires and metal hardware to secure the bones in that correct position. Bikash’s arm will be sewed up and placed in a cast while it heals. $579 will provide for the pre-operative care, surgical costs, hospital stay, and medicines. After a few weeks of healing time, Bikash will be able to use his arm again without pain. He will be able to participate in all of his favorite activities, ride his bike, and go to school without delay.

Seng is an 83-year-old grandfather from Cambodia suffering from cataracts in each eye. Our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC), shares, “Two years ago, Seng developed a cataract in each eye. This causes him blurred vision, cloudy lenses, and he is uncomfortable in sunshine.” Seng is married with four sons, three daughters, and six grandchildren. He enjoys visiting the pagoda to listen to the monks pray in his free time. Seng and his son traveled 12 hours to reach CSC. Seng hopes that with restored vision he will be able to do work such as repair sewing machines and easily go anywhere outside. For $225 Seng will receive a surgery in which his clouded lenses will be removed and replaced with clear lens implants. CSC states that after treatment, “Seng will be able to see clearly again.”

"Seab is married with one son and two daughters. She has eight grandchildren," says our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). The 79-year-old woman lives with her family in Cambodia. "Five months ago, Seab's lower eyelid began turning inward because of a condition called entropion," CSC tells us. Due to this, Seab's eyelashes often scratch the surface of her eye, causing irritation. "I am teary all the time, it is hard to see, and I can feel my eyelashes on my eye," Seab explains. Seab was diagnosed during a CSC outreach program aimed at widening health care to even remote regions of Cambodia. After learning that she could receive surgery for her condition, Seab and her daughter travelled to CSC’s clinic on the program’s outreach bus. For $290, Seab can undergo an entropion repair operation. The surgery will have a marked improvement on Seab’s everyday life, alleviating the irritation, improving her vision, and restoring her overall independence. “Seab enjoys visiting the pagoda in her free time and listening to the monks pray,” CSC says. Excited to regain her independence, Seab shares, “After my surgery I hope I can go to the pagoda and join in ceremonies and take care of myself without help."

“Carolina is the only child of two loving parents,” says our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq (WK). "Her favorite toy is a little doll that her dad gave her. While her mother works weaving blouses to sell, Carolina loves to play in the backyard." Carolina has acute malnutrition, meaning her body is not absorbing as many nutrients as it needs to be healthy. Due to this, “Carolina is far below the average height and weight for her age,” WK explains. Malnutrition often leads to more complications, including stunted mental and physical development and a weakened immune system. With $535, Carolina will receive micronutrient support to treat her acute malnutrition. This treatment will extend over a 90-day period, during which time nutrient-rich food supplements will be slowly incorporated into Carolina’s diet. In doing so, she is expected to gradually and safely adjust to the changes. To protect her against infections during her treatment, Carolina will also be given deworming medicine. Through preventable, malnutrition is a prevalent health concern, especially in rural communities such as Carolina’s. WK explains that education plays an important role in prevention. “Carolina’s parents will receive intensive nutrition education, building their confidence and ability to care for Carolina throughout her childhood and improve their ability to care for any future children,” they share. With this treatment, Carolina’s health will improve over time. WK informs us she will “recoup some of the weight and height she has lost, overcome the infection causing her diarrhea, and increase her overall caloric intake.” “Thank you for what you are doing for Carolina,” Carolina’s mother says. “Now with this help Carolina is going to grow up to be a healthy woman.”