Lilian is a 25-year-old woman who works as a helper for another family. A mother of two young children, she is raising them alone, since she and her husband are separated. She says that despite struggling to sustain them, she loves them a lot. Six years ago, Lilian began to experience troubling symptoms, including a swollen neck, snoring, difficulty breathing especially at night and feeling the weight of a growth in her neck. She has also been experiencing low self-esteem due to the neck swelling. She was diagnosed with large Right Multinodular Goiter, and needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Lillian could not go to the hospital for lack of money until one of her neighbours who had been supported through the Watsi program brought her to Nazareth Hospital for possible support. She was advised to have an ultrasound scan and thyroid function tests. For three months, she did not return to Nazareth, until last week when she had finally managed to raise money for the tests. Now our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Lilian receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on October 24th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $657, and she and her family need help raising money. Lilian is very optimistic and says, “Now I have the results and I am very hopeful that the sponsors will answer to my plea, so that I can regain my normal life, self-esteem and take care of my small children.”

Vanna is a 66-year-old retired rice farmer from Cambodia. She has three sons, three daughters, and 10 grandchildren. Vanna lives with her husband and their oldest daughter, who is a rice and vegetable farmer. Vanna and her husband enjoy listening to the monks pray on the radio and at the pagoda. Four years ago, Vanna developed a cataract in her right eye, causing her itchiness, tearing, and blurry vision. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking, so she is not able to go places on her own. When Vanna learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for seven and a half hours seeking treatment. On November 17th, doctors will perform a phacoemulsification cataract surgery and an intraocular lens implant in her right eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Now, she needs help raising $253 to fund her procedure and care. Vanna shared, "I hope my vision improves after surgery so I can feel happy, walk places on my own, and take care of my grandchildren."

Jonathan is a 23-month-old boy—the last born with three older brothers. The family lives in a single roomed rental house. His mother is a farmer while his father operates a Boda Boda taxi business. Their income is limited to make ends meet and cover the surgery costs that Jonathan needs. Since birth, Jonathan has had inguinal hernia. The hernia presents as a swell around his inguinal area and gives him restlessness and pain especially when the swell is visible. He requires an inguinal hernia repair, which his parents are not able to pay for and requests help. Fortunately, on December 8th, he will undergo hernia repair surgery at our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $230 to fund Jonathan's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably and confidently. Jonathan's family shared that Jonathan has been suffering for a long time and they wish to see him grow up happy, healthy, and able to play with other children.

Abelino recently began experiencing seizures. As a result, his physical development has halted. Abelino has lost the ability to walk and speak. He is also struggling with malnutrition. His parents, afraid for their son and extremely poor, have been unable to seek medical attention on his behalf. Abelino is only four years old. He deserves a happy, healthy childhood, and for $1,450, we can make it happen for him. With medical care from our Guatemalan partner, Abelino will not only receive the treatment he needs to stop the seizures, he will also be given nutritional and physical therapy to help him start growing again.