"Melona is a loving and hardworking mother,” shares our medical partner, International Care Ministries (ICM). While the past several years have been challenging, this 28-year-old single mother of four children “is still positive about life because she is drawing strength from her children.” Melona has hyperthyroidism—a condition that causes the thyroid gland to be more active than usual. This hyperactivity causes an excess amount of thyroid hormones to build up in the body. The body naturally responds to the rising hormone level in a variety of ways, typically causing a faster heart rate, anxiety and hand tremors. “Melona has been suffering with this condition for 11 years,” ICM explains. Since the onset of her condition, the lump on her neck has noticeably increased in size. As a result, “Melona feels embarrassed whenever people look at her.” With $525 in funding, Melona will receive surgery to remove her thyroid gland. In doing so, she will no longer produce excess amounts of hormones, allowing her body to return to its normal hormone levels. Although this operation typically has a very short and painless recovery period, Melona will spend five days in supervised hospital care to support the beginning of her recovery. The proposed treatment will greatly help Melona and her children. ICM explains, “After the treatment, Melona can look for other jobs that could help them in their daily needs. She will also gain confidence and her self-esteem will improve.” "Despite of our financial difficulties, I am still hoping that one day I will receive treatment so that I can go on with life with out difficulty and take care of my children well," Melona says.

For the past two years, Beatrice has experienced serious pain caused by uterine fibroids. The pain is so severe that it hinders her ability to work on her farm and socialize with her friends. The fibroids also cause bleeding and give her headaches. Beatrice has traveled to several different hospitals seeking treatment, but has been misdiagnosed each time and as a result hasn't received proper treatment. A 58-year-old single mother from Kenya, Beatrice’s three children are grown now, but they are unable to fund the hysterectomy surgery their mom needs to relieve her symptoms. Beatrice says she is pained by the fact that she has to depend on others despite having "hands to farm." For $885, we can fund Beatrice’s hysterectomy surgery so she can support herself again!

For three years, Baba has been avoiding public life due to his reliance on a urinary catheter. Baba has urinary retention due to BPH, or an enlarged prostate. Because he has not had the resources to get an operation, Baba has been using a stopgap treatment, a urinary catheter that he has to have treated and drained every four days. The stigma of the catheter has seriously impacted his quality of life, as he has not been able to go out in public due to pain and catheter related odors. In spite of these challenges, Baba remains optimistic and enthusiastic about life. He is a neighborhood comedian, and he never misses a game of cards. His providers say that he is a warrior! Baba needs a total of $770 in order to have a procedure called a TURP (transurethral resection of prostate). This treatment will remove excess prostate tissue. This will prevent future possible cancerous growth, and, most importantly, Baba will no longer be dependant on a catheter. Donating $30 will entirely cover the cost of the medication that Baba needs. $60 will pay for his lab analysis, and $80 will pay for his hospitalization. The total cost of the surgery will be $600. Working together, we can help this comedian get back into the community that he adores!

Sokheoun is a 22-year-old student who wants to be an engineer. He has a condition called strabismus that causes his eyes to cross, and if it's not treated early, it can cause headache, fatigue, blurry vision, and problems with depth perception. Fortunately, Sokheoun's condition is treatable. For $250, Children's Surgical Centre in Cambodia can provide him with surgery to realign his eyes. Sokhoeun loves traditional Cambodian music and playing football with his friends. As a student, Sokhoeun does a lot of reading, and he says he hopes this surgery will improve his vision and help with his reading.

When Sophea was just six months old, he burned his arm in a cooking fire. Sophia developed contractures (deformed, tightened skin after a third degree burn) that are so severe, the surgeons at CSC decided to delay his treatment for one month until they could be assisted by a burn reconstruction specialist. In rural Cambodia, energy and electricity are scarce, so many people cook over open fires using natural products like wood for fuel. Unfortunately, thousands of people are injured in accidents related to open flames every year. Due to the inaccessibility of high-quality medical care, injuries like Sophea's often result in permanent disability. Sophea is the youngest of eight children. His father died five years ago, and the remainder of his family works hard on their farm to make ends meet. Sophea tries to help by caring for the cows, but isn’t able to do the physically intensive work of harvesting rice because of his condition. He also has trouble keeping up in school and says he gets made fun of for his appearance. Sophea hopes to be able to help his family more and live a normal life after surgery. When he grows up, he wants to be the Village Chief in his village. We’re behind you, Sophea!

Mercy is a university student studying mass communication at the University of Jos, Nigeria. She loves reading, writing, and singing, and dreams of making a positive difference in the world. For many years, Mercy has battled sickle cell anemia, a disease that causes episodes of severe pain, fatigue, rapid heart rate, and shortness of breath. Her condition has been well managed by low-cost care from Faith Alive Foundation, but she is now dealing with another issue. Mercy is suffering from osteomyelitis, a condition that causes a deformity of her left knee, excruciating pain, and inability to walk. She needs surgery to remove dead pieces of bones from her leg and enable her to live normally again, but she cannot afford the $1,000 procedure. We hope to cover the cost for Faith Alive to provide Mercy with the care she needs to return to school and continue on a path towards a happy, successful life.