Pauline is a 65-year-old small-scale farmer and mother of eight, living in Uganda. In addition to farming, Pauline raises cows so that she can sell milk to earn additional money for her family. For the past eight months Pauline has had a swelling on her back. The swelling causes her pain, and has continued to increase in size. Pauline sought medical attention, and it was recommended that she have the mass excised. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Pauline to access the care that she needs. On December 21st, surgeons at Karoli Lwanga Hospital, Nyakibale will remove the mass on Pauline's back. Now she needs your support to raise the $137 to fund this procedure. Pauline says: "I believe that I will get better once this swelling is removed. I appeal for your financial support to undergo this surgery."

Niwarinda is a 27-year-old mother to a preschooler. She completed college and was trained to be a grade 3 nursery school teacher, but her profession was removed from the Ugandan professions list. She tried to open her own small business, but, unfortunately, her husband--a boda boda driver (a motorcycle taxi driver for hire)--was in an accident and they lost everything. Thankfully, her husband recovered well and he is now back at work. Six months ago, Niwarinda began to experience troubling symptoms, including night sweats, hoarseness, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing. She was diagnosed with a goiter, an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Niwarinda receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on November 29th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. Now, she needs help to fund this $252 procedure. Niwandida says, “I think I will get better when I receive your support to undergo surgery because I have really passed through a lot of pain for all these years.”

Francklin is a loving husband and father from Haiti. He lives with his wife and two children in a neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. He works as a security guard for a private security company. Francklin has a cardiac condition called severe mitral stenosis which resulted from a rheumatic fever that he suffered when he was young. Blood cannot pass through a valve in his heart properly, leaving him weak and short of breath. The cardiac surgery that Francklin's condition requires is not available in Haiti, so he needs to fly to the United States to receive treatment. On November 18th, he will undergo cardiac surgery, during which surgeons will attempt to repair the damaged valve; if they are unable, they will need to implant an artificial replacement. Another organization, the Baylor Scott & White Heart Hospital, is contributing $20,000 to pay for his surgery. Francklin's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep, travel, and follow-up care while he heals. The $1,500 bill covers labs, medicines, and check-up and follow-up appointments. It also supports passport obtainment and the social worker from our medical partner, Haiti Cardiac Alliance, who will accompany Francklin overseas. Francklin says, "My family and I will pray for God's blessings on everyone who is helping us."

Valentina is a beautiful 2-year-old girl from Bolivia. She lives in La Paz with her parents, who are a teacher and a homemaker respectively, and two older siblings. Valentina was born with a cardiac condition called atrial septal defect, in which a hole exists between the two upper chambers of her heart. As a result blood leaks through this hole, leaving her weak and short of breath. Our medical partner HCA is helping Valentina access life-saving cardiac treatment so she can grow up healthy. During surgery, doctors will use a patch to close the hole so that blood can no longer leak through it. Her family is raising $1,500 to support her surgery and care. Valentina's mother shared: "Our family is very thankful that Valentina can have this opportunity for her heart to be healed."

Pov is a 66-year-old loving grandmother from Cambodia. She has two sons, five daughters, and twenty-two grandchildren. She retired from her work as a rice farmer and lives with her youngest daughter, who is a garment worker. In her free time, Pov enjoys listening to the monks pray on the radio, visiting the local pagoda, and cooking for her grandchildren. A year ago, Pov developed a cataract in her left eye that causes her blurry vision. She cannot see well in low or bright light and is afraid to go outside by herself. She also has difficulty seeing things clearly, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking. As a result, she cannot go places independently. When Pov learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), she traveled for an hour seeking treatment. On September 29th, doctors will perform cataract surgery and an intraocular lens implant in her left eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. CSC is requesting $253 to fund her procedure. Pov shared, "I hope I can I go outside by myself and see faces well again. I want to help my daughter take care of my grandchildren."

Tin is a 45-year-old man. Originally from Burma, he fled to Thailand over 20 years ago due to civil war. He currently lives with his wife, who works as a street vendor selling various snacks and vegetable, and one of his daughters, who is currently in school. His family also raises chickens, which they sell when they need cash. Tin previously worked as a farmer and a construction worker, but he has recently been unable to work due to his condition. In the future, he hopes to go back to work and help support his family. After an incident that occurred this past April that caused him to be hit in the left eye by a mango, Tin lost his vision in that eye and began to experience headaches, swelling, severe eye pain, and dizziness when attempting to stand. Tin eventually sought medical attention at a clinic. There, a medic checked his left eye, gave him a bottle of eye drops, and told him to seek treatment at Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) since they could not treat him there. However, he did not go to MTC right away due to financial constraints. He instead hoped that his eye would recover over time with the help of eye drops. Although his pain was temporarily reduced, the bruising disappeared, and the swelling went down over time, he never regained his vision. The pain in his eye eventually returned, and he noticed that he had a white spot on his left pupil. As the white spot increased in size, his eye progressively became more painful and began to itch. He now experiences discharge and watering in his eye, as well as difficulty sleeping. At the beginning of this month, a small lump appeared near the white spot on his left pupil. The lump gradually increased in size until it bursted on August 13th. After the discharge and bleeding from the lump stopped, he asked his friend to take him to MTC right away. When he arrived at the clinic, he was told to come back on Monday since there were not any eye specialist medics working on the weekend. When Tin returned on Monday, a medic examined his left eye, and he was diagnosed with corneal perforation, a condition resulting from the cornea being penetrated and damaged. Tin was also told that his eye is infected. He now must undergo surgery at our medical partner's care center, Mae Sot General Hospital, to remove his left eye as quickly as possible before the infection spreads to his right eye. Fortunately, Tin was referred to our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), for financial assistance accessing treatment. On August 17th, surgeons at our medical partner's care center will perform an enucleation to remove his left eye. Now, BCMF is requesting $1,500 to fund Tin's life-changing procedure. Tin shares, “I feel very depressed and worried about my eye. I can’t imagine what my life would be like if I lost vision in both of my eyes. I want to receive surgery quickly to prevent my right eye from becoming infected. Without your help, I don’t think I would be able to receive further treatment. Therefore, I want to say thank you to the donors and the organization for agreeing to support my treatment costs.”

Dennis is a farmer from Kenya, who is happily married and a father of two boys. Together with his wife and children they live in semi-permanent houses and are small-scale potato farmers. When they can get work, they do casual jobs in the neighborhood in order to earn a living. They are a young family who shared that life is often hard for them. They have no medical coverage nor money to fund the surgery that Dennis needs. Dennis came in on Friday after being cut with a machete. He went to the operating theatre for emergency care. Later on, Dennis was splinted and admitted into the surgical ward to help him heal. Three days later, he was seen and examined by the surgeon, who is deeply concerned about his recovery. The surgeon recommended follow-up care that is needed right away to avoid serious, permanent damage to Dennis' hand. Dennis is at risk of losing his arm if not treated immediately. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Dennis receive treatment. On December 7th, surgeons at their care center will perform surgery so that Dennis will be able to use his arm, work and provide for his young family. Now, he needs help to fund this $1,089 procedure. Dennis says, “I am my family provider who does a lot of casual jobs and farming to earn a living. I am really worried about my current state. Kindly help me so that I can be able to use hand normally as before.”

Abigaelle is an 18-month-old infant from Haiti. She has two siblings: one brother and one sister. She is a happy and cheerful baby who loves to smile and play! Abigaelle has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of her condition, Abigaelle has been experiencing an increase in head circumference. Without treatment, Abigaelle will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, Project Medishare, is requesting $957 to cover the cost of surgery for Abigaelle at Hospital Bernard Mevs to treat her hydrocephalus. This is the only site in the country where this care is currently available. The procedure is scheduled to take place on July 13th. This critical treatment will place a shunt to drain the excess fluid from Abigaelle's brain to reduce intracranial pressure and greatly improve her quality of life. With proper treatment, she will hopefully develop into a strong, healthy young girl. Abigaelle's family shares that they are looking forward to their child being healthy.

Quinter is a nine-year-old only girl who needs surgery to heal her clubfoot. She's in the third grade and likes reading and helping with household chores. Quinter's mother passed away when she was young, and later her father left the family, so Quinter is now under the care of her aunt, who works as a tea picker. Quinter has clubfoot of her left foot. Clubfoot is a condition where the foot is twisted out of shape. This makes it difficult for Quinter to walk or to even wear a shoe on that foot. Fortunately, Quinter traveled to visit our medical partner's care center, AIC Cure International Hospital. There, surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on June 14th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $1,286 to fund Quinter's clubfoot repair. After treatment, Quinter will be able to walk well and play with her friends both at school and at home. Quinter’s aunt told us, “My joy is to see Quinter walking well and excelling in life.”

Lucas is a teenage boy and the third born out of seven children born to his mother. He is currently in the fifth grade in primary school and shared that his best subjects are social studies, Mathematics and Swahili. He likes playing football with his friends, but he has difficulty playing freely. When Lucas was a baby, he fell into an open fireplace and his left leg was burned severely. Although he had surgery then, burns scars (contractures) developed on his leg at the knee joint. They cause tightening around the joint making it hard for him to walk. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Lucas receive treatment. On May 10th, surgeons at their care center will perform a burn contracture release surgery to help him walk easily again. Now, he needs help to fund this $639 procedure. Lucas says, "I will be very happy if I get this treatment since I will be able to play football with my friends and also walk well."