Kemirembe is a 49-year-old mother of five and shared that her husband died in 1998. He left her with a grass thatched house, and through hard work, she managed to construct a three-room semi-permanent house to shelter her children. Her house though, was washed away by floods early last month due to constant rains in the country. She is currently struggling in putting up a temporally one because she wasn’t financially prepared for the disaster. Her firstborn is 30 years old and joined a technical institution immediately after completing primary school class seven, the second born is 27 years old and dropped out of school from secondary school class two, her third born is 25 years old and got married after primary school class seven. Her fourth is 23 years old and is in secondary school class four while her last born is 22 years and dropped out of school from primary school class seven. Most of her children are casual laborers and can only offer minimal support to her. At Rushoroza Hospital, she presented with a history of lower abdominal pain plus menorrhagia. If not treated through a total abdominal hysterectomy, she could have chronic pelvic pain that will stop her from doing her daily activities, severe anemia secondary to menorrhagia leading to possible heart failure. Kemirembe is a small-scale farmer who grows a variety of crops for survival. Her husband used to own and raise livestock such as cows and goats. He had many of them, she told us. Kemirembe managed to pay school fees for her children by selling the cows and goats and now is left with no animals. Kemirembe shared, “I had lost hope. May my prayers be answered. I look forward to putting more effort to farming in order to be able to take good care of myself in a few years when I grow older.”

Tushabomwe is a 44 year old woman who lost her husband in 2009 when unfortunately they were attacked by gunmen in their house. Tushabomwe was shot in her thigh and she was pregnant with her third child, who luckily survived. Tushabomwe suspected the attack was planned by relatives and this forced her to move very far away to start a new life. She has not gotten married again. Tushabomwe works hard, selling dry produce such as beans in the nearby markets and was able to construct a three-room semi-permanent house for shelter. She later started small-scale farming as a way to generate food for her children. Her oldest is 15 years old and in secondary school class one, her second born in primary school class seven and her youngest is 10 years old and in primary school class four. She is proud to independently take care of her children, although it is a challenge. Tushabomwe developed a small swelling on her neck in 2019 and it kept on increasing in size as time went on. The swelling became prominent with severe pain. She went to a local health centre and was given tablets hoping that the swelling would reduce as well as the pain, but all this did not help. The swelling reduces and increases occasionally, currently, it is in its smallest size but after some time it increases in size and so does her pain. In its largest state, she has difficulty swallowing and speaking. She decided to come to Watsi's Medical Partner Care Center Rushoroza Hospital to seek medical advice and treatment. Doctors there told her that if not treated through a thyroidectomy, Tushabomwe may develop airway obstruction, thyrotoxicosis and further difficulty in swallowing. Tushabomwe says, “This condition hinders the smooth running of my business because of the pain. After surgery, I will be comfortable and I will take on my business activities and be able to take care of my family.”

Mugyenyi is a small-scale farmer from Uganda. She is widow and has three children who are all small-scale farmers who are all married. For the last two years, Mugyenyi has experienced discomfort and disfigurement and has been diagnosed with a mass on the posterior aspect of her right arm. It is not painful but has been progressively increasing in size and needs to be excised. Mugyenyi traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On July 16th, surgeons will remove the mass. Now, Mugyenyi needs help to raise $145 to fund this procedure. Mugyenyi shared, “With the surgery, I will be able to work comfortably again and be able to carry on with my duties normally. I will resume farming as soon as possible.”