Amanda's Story

Amanda joined Watsi on August 12th, 2015. Eight years ago, Amanda joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Amanda's most recent donation traveled 8,300 miles to support Kyaw, a 5-year-old student from Burma, to fund retinal surgery.

Impact

Amanda has funded healthcare for 103 patients in 13 countries.

Patients funded by Amanda

Kyaw is a 5-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his parents, grandmother, and older sister. Kyaw’s father supports the family as a Wi-Fi technician, while his mother and grandmother take care of the household. Recently, Kyaw started nursery school. During his free time, he likes to play football with his friends and ride his bicycle. In June 2023, while playing outside with his friends, Kyaw was accidentally hit by a friend and injured his left eye. Since then, Kyaw began to experience blurring and watering in his left eye, sensitivity to light, accompanied by pain, itching, and redness around the eye. These symptoms have made it increasingly difficult for him to see clearly. Kyaw was diagnosed with retinal detachment, a condition in which the retina pulls away from the supportive tissue in the eye, resulting in vision loss. If left untreated, he could lose his vision completely. Kyaw is scheduled to undergo surgery to reattach his retina on March 11th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. After his surgery, Kyaw's vision will hopefully be restored and he can resume his daily activities comfortably. Kyaw’s mother said, “I am very thankful to BCMF and their donors. It was very difficult to find an organization that would help with the cost of treatment. It is good to know I can depend on others for support like this, without you, it would be very difficult for me to help my son.”

$434raised
$1,066to go

Naw Aye is a 28-year-old woman who lives with her husband, son, sister-in-law, brother, two nephews, and two nieces in a refugee camp in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand. Originally from across the Burmese border in a conflict-area called Karen State, she fled to the refugee camp with her family in February 2023 due to airstrikes on her village. Her husband and her brother are unemployed, while her son, nieces, and nephews go to school. She and her sister-in-law are homemakers. During her free time, she loves to play with her son and enjoys planting vegetables in her small garden. She is currently expecting her second child. Her doctors recommended that she deliver via cesarean section because In January 2020, when Naw Aye was pregnant with her first child, her water broke prematurely which put her baby's life at risk. She was brought to a hospital in Burma, where she gave birth to her son through a caesarean section (C-section). In February, after they had fled to the refugee camp, Naw Aye became pregnant. She went to the hospital in the refugee camp regularly for antenatal care. She was told during one of her visits that although her pregnancy was going well, she would need to give birth through a C-section to ensure the safety of both mother and child. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, will help ensure a safe C-section on November 3rd. This procedure costs $1500, and Naw Aye needs your support. “I want to sell sacks or Mohinga (Burmese soup) for extra income soon. But I don’t have enough cash to start doing that, and I am pregnant. I hope I can do that after I give birth,” Naw Aye said.

$1,122raised
$378to go

Ya is a 41-year-old woman from Burma. She currently lives with her father who is retired, her brother who is a student, and her son who works on the family rice farm with her. Their farming sustains their family, as they have no other source of income. They also forage for plants and vegetables from the forest. In her free time, Ya enjoys weaving traditional Karen (her ethnic community) bags. As a result of COVID-19 and the February 2021 coup, it is no longer feasible for Ya’s family to have traditional jobs. Her family faces extreme instability due to ongoing fighting in their area. Often, they must escape to nearby forests to avoid the conflict. They spend around a week at a time displaced in the forests. After the fighting has moved, they return to their village. Recently they had to sell their two cows to support themselves. In September 2020, Ya began experiencing back pain, and it was uncomfortable for her to walk and do regular activities because she cannot put pressure on her abdomen. She was diagnosed with myoma, or uterine fibroids. She has been advised to undergo a total abdominal hysterectomy, the surgical removal of her uterus and cervix. If left untreated, Ya's symptoms will continue to worsen and put her at risk for further health complications in the future. Fortunately, Ya is scheduled to undergo her hysterectomy on July 10th with the help of our medical partner Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), who is requesting $1,500 to cover the cost of her procedure and care. Once recovered, Ya will no longer be in pain and will be able to walk without discomfort and work on the farm with her son. Ya said, “I want to get the surgery and recover quickly so I can go back to my family and help with the farm.” She is not sure what the future will hold as the fighting in her village is still happening, but she said, “I just want to be happy and stay with my family for the rest of my life.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Melesh is a playful and smiley four year old girl who lives with her mother, two brothers and one sister in Ethiopia. She is the youngest of the four children, and loves going to school. Melesh's older siblings have finished high school, but did not proceed to university, and are currently unemployed. Her mother - who is divorced from Melesh's father - makes and sells traditional beverages for a living. Her mom shared that their family does not receive any support from the father. Melesh was born with a rare, congenital anomaly, called bladder exstrophy. As a result of this condition, the abdominal wall doesn't fully form as the bladder is developing, leaving the pubic bones separated, and the bladder exposed to the outside surface of the skin. Urine leaks directly into Melesh's abdomen, so that she suffers from infections and other symptoms. In fact, Melesh has stopped going to school because the other children insult her because of her condition. Melesh's mother is worried, as Melesh has isolated herself to avoid being stigmatized by the community. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is seeking $1,500 to fund the Mainz Pouch procedure which if successful, should enable Melesh to pass urine normally. Surgery is scheduled for May 16th at BethanyKids Myungsung Christian Medical Centre, and should allow Melesh to resume the life of a happy and healthy four year old. Melesh's mother said: “I will educate her once she gets the surgery and heals. I will work on keeping her clean. I hope she will be content and healthy."

$1,500raised
Fully funded