Malai is a 34-year-old soft drink seller from Cambodia who enjoys cooking and watching Khmer movies. She has one son and one daughter, both of whom currently attend school. Malai's husband sells soft drinks with her near their home. When she was ten years old, Malai had an ear infection. This infection caused the tympanic membrane, or the ear drum, in her right ear to perforate. Because of this, Malai now experiences ear pain, discharge, and hearing loss. She also has difficulty communicating with others. Malai traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On August 11th, she will undergo a myringoplasty procedure in her right ear. During this procedure, surgeons will close the perforation. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $487 to fund this procedure. This covers supplies, treatment, and inpatient care. Malai says, "I hope the ear infection will stop so my hearing can improve."

Ruth is a widowed farmer in her 50s from Uganda. She lost her husband in 2006, leaving her with 6 children (2 sons and 4 daughters). All her daughters are married and farmers but her sons are still studying. She shared that she only managed to study up to 6th grade because her parents never valued education for girls. She does farming for a living but has to augment her income with manual labour work in other people’s gardens to pay school fees for her sons. For several months now, Ruth has been experiencing bleeding, severe lower abdominal pain, backache, and dizziness to an extent that she couldn’t even walk. She has been diagnosed with severe uterine bleeding. She needs to undergo a hysterectomy, a procedure in which surgeons will remove her uterus. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $219 to fund Ruth's surgery. On December 1st, she will undergo gynecological surgery at our medical partner's care center. Once recovered, Ruth will be able to resume her daily activities free of pain. Ruth says, “I never got a chance to get an education, I have been working so hard to see that my children don’t suffer the way I have suffered by providing them some education. However, in such poor health, I won’t be able to make them reach where I want them. I need your support.”

Marivel is a hardworking and loving daughter from the Philippines. She is a 2nd-year college student. While studying, she tried to look for jobs to support her family. Unfortunately, to date she has been unable to pass the medical (health) requirements. The only breadwinner in the family is her father who works as a pedicab driver. Her father's income is often not enough to bring food to the table. In 2018, Marivel began to experience troubling symptoms, including a mass on her neck that is growing in size, and episodes of difficulty breathing. Due to the inadequate family resources, she did not seek treatment. By the time she finally had a chance to be checked by a doctor, her condition had worsened. She was diagnosed with Nodular Non-Toxic Goiter, a thyroid gland enlargement with no disturbance in the thyroid function. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Fortunately, our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines (WSFP), is helping Marivel receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on December 10th at Our Lady of Peace Hospital. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. A portion of the cost of her treatment is being supported by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and WSFP is raising the remaining $890 to cover the cost of Marivel's procedure and care. Marivel shared, "I'd like to thank Watsi and World Surgical Foundation Philippines. You're not just giving me surgery, but also a chance to support my family. After my treatment, I'd be able to find a decent job and provide for our needs."