“Ran began having ear discharge from her left ear when she was 10 years old,” says our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Center (CSC). Ran is now an 18-year-old woman living in Cambodia, and her condition has led to further complications. CSC continues, “The recurrent discharge caused hearing loss and an infected perforation of the tympanic membrane (eardrum). Her left ear experiences pain and tinnitus as well.” After learning about CSC from another individual in her village, Ran traveled three hours with her mother to reach our partner. She is married without children, and she spends her days cleaning her home and helping her parents on their farm. Ran tells CSC, “It is difficult to communicate with other people and this makes me unhappy that I can’t hear clearly.” In order to combat her infection and improve her hearing, Ran will need a mastoidectomy, a surgery that will remove cells in the hollow, air-filled spaces in the skull behind the ear. This procedure is used to treat infection and eliminate discharge and pain. For $809, Ran can receive the surgery she requires. Her mother shares: “I hope after the operation is done my daughter’s ear discharge stops, and she can have better hearing.”

"Jemima is a single mother" and runs a small kiosk to support her and her child, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), shares. For about a year, 46-year-old Jemima "has been experiencing heavy bleeding and lower abdominal pains" which have become more prominent in the past month. "She has been given medication with no success," AMHF continues. "This is affecting Jemima's social life and even makes it difficult to do her daily work of selling at the kiosk." Jemima sought care and a scan revealed that she has intramural fibroids, which are small growths inside the uterus. "If not operated, Jemima will continue to bleed and this could lead to anaemia and other complications." $790 covers the cost of a total abdominal hysterectomy, a procedure to completely remove Jemima's uterus and rid her of the risk of future health problems. Jemima shares that she can't afford the treatment on her own, and her condition is affecting her ability to generate income. “I have struggled with this problem, sometimes I cannot even stand to sell at the kiosk yet we depend on this." "I hope I will have help and successful treatment so that I can continue working and supporting myself and my child," Jemima shares.