Omary is a soft spoken, 17-year-old boy living in Tanzania. He likes to play football, and "used to be very competitive before his bones got weak," shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Omary's knees gradually started to bend inwards when he was in class seven. Omary has bilateral genu valgus, which means his knee joints and femurs are misaligned. "This condition has affected Omary’s gait and he is at risk of developing osteoarthritis at a young age if not treated…for years, his parents have tried to look for ways to help their son, but nothing helped," AMHF says. With $940, Omary can undergo an operation that will combine casting and surgery to realign his bones and joint, straighten his legs, improve his gait, and reduce the risk of developing early osteoarthritis. Currently, Omary helps his parents with farm work and herding cattle as much as he can, but he hopes the surgery will allow him to keep playing football, and pursue his desire to join the army.

Meet Khorng, a 68-year-old father who lives with his family in Cambodia. “Khorng is married with one son, three daughters and three grandchildren,” shares our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). While he used to work at the farm to support his family, he now has hypermature cataracts that prevent him from working. In his spare time, he enjoys listening to the news on the radio. Khorng’s cataracts are “hypermature.” This means that the entire lens of the eye is wrinkled and the contents have become solid or shrunken—causing serious vision problems. “Khorng worries that his cataracts will make him blind,” reports CSC. “And right now he has a hard time doing any work for himself and finds it difficult to go to the pagoda or anywhere outside by himself.” With $225, Khorng will receive the surgery he needs to treat the cataract in each of his eyes. In a short procedure, doctors make a small incision to remove the clouded lens. They then replace that lens with a new, artificial lens. To ensure success, doctors will perform the operation on one eye at a time. Once the first eye heals after one to two weeks, Khorng can return for surgery on the next eye. After both surgeries are completed, Khorng will be able to see clearly again. “Khorng hopes that after surgery he can return to the farm, help his wife by collecting firewood for cooking fires, feed his cows and chickens and go to the pagoda more often for religious ceremonies,” shares CSC.

Yosef is an eight-year-old boy that lives with his family in Ethiopia. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), shares that Yosef has a medical condition called hypospadius, that causes him discomfort when urinating. Hypospadias occurs when the urethra doesn’t extend to the tip of the penis and causes complications when Yosef tries to urinate. “This leaves him embarrassed and unable to play with his friends,” shares AMHF. If not treated, Yosef faces the risk of becoming impotent later in life. $1,155 will cover Yosef’s surgical costs, medication, and hospital stay. During the operation, doctors will correct the defect by using tissue to create a tube that increases the length of the urethra. A catheter may be used to keep the tube’s shape for 1-2 weeks. AMHF expects, “that the hypospadius repair will rectify his abnormal urethral opening and enable him to urinate normally.”