Peace is a primary school teacher. She is currently teaching grade 5 and proudly works as the headteacher at her school. Peace shared that her husband died in 1997 and left her family a three-room, semi-permanent home. She is a mother of 5 children. Her firstborn child is 34-years-old and married, while her last born is 24-years-old and is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in education. Peace has worked hard to raise her children and shared that she raised the school fees for her children through manageable loans that she paid over time. In April 2020, Peace began to experience troubling symptoms, including neck pains accompanied by periodic difficulty breathing and swallowing. While at church, her friend noticed that her neck was swelling, especially whenever she tried to sing or speak, and advised her to see a doctor. Currently, Peace develops a cough every morning and suffers from airway obstruction. She is a talented singer and enjoys singing at church but has been greatly affected by her current condition. She visited the hospital at our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), for review. Doctors diagnosed her condition as a toxic goiter, which requires surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. On December 14th, Peace will undergo a thyroidectomy at AMHF's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. AMHF is requesting $333 to fund Peace’s procedure. Peace shared, “I hope to get relieved of the goiter and the complications I am currently facing so that I may be able to continue teaching comfortably.”

Daniel is a seven-year-old boy from Tanzania and the firstborn in a family of two children. Daniel is a big fan of football. He is currently in second grade and he shared his best subject is mathematics. Daniel and his younger sister, who is two years old, are being raised by their widowed mother after their father passed away last December after being sick for a long time. This left their mother with no one to give her a hand or support to take care of her children. Daniel's mother depends on small-scale farming of maize and vegetables to be able to provide for her two children, something she says it has not been easy by herself. Earlier this year in April, Daniel was attacked by a hyena as he was taking a bath outside their hut in the evening. The hyena grabbed him by the leg and started running with him towards the bushes. His mother was just close by bathing his younger sister and she ran after the hyena while crying for help. The hyena dropped Daniel but left him with claw injuries, broken bones and a badly injured face. He was rushed to the hospital where he had several surgeries to help repair the places he had been cut open and casting for his fractures. He has been able to recover but the incident left Daniel with damage to his nose. All of his earlier treatment costs were paid for by their church through donations, but his mom is now trying to raise funds for his additional surgery. Daniel has been scheduled for a skin flap cover surgery that will help repair his nose. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Daniel receive treatment. On October 14th, surgeons at their care center will perform a surgery to help correct his nose. Now, his family needs help to fund this $874 procedure. Daniel’s mother says, “All the treatment my son has had ever since the incident it’s through God’s grace. I wouldn’t have been able to afford any of that. Please help fund his nose correction surgery.”

Wai is a 33-year-old homemaker from Thailand. She lives with her husband, son, and daughter on the border of Thailand. She is a homemaker, and her husband is a day laborer. Since Wai injured her left eye, her husband had to stop working to look after their children, since her son has a heart condition and her daughter has asthma. Since a young boy accidentally shot her in the left eye with a slingshot, Wai's left eye has been in pain. Her left pupil is covered by a white spot, and she also cannot see clearly. Wai feels stressed and depressed about her eye, and she has lost her appetite. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund a lens replacement surgery for Wai. On October 27th, doctors will perform a lens replacement, during which they will remove Wai's natural lenses and replace them with an intraocular lens implant. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Now, she needs help to fund this $1,500 procedure. Wai shared, “I will try to be a good mother and make sure my children receive an education because I do not want my children to be uneducated like me. If I get better, I will always bring and pick up my children from school. I will look after them full time so that my husband can go back to work and save money.”

Sara is a 27-year-old construction worker from Cambodia. Sara and his wife were married five years ago and they have one two-year-old son. Sara and his wife are both construction workers. He enjoys taking care of his son, doing housework, and listening to the radio. Earlier this month, Sara was shocked by electricity when working on the rooftop of a house. It caused electricity burns on both of his hands. He first went to a provincial government hospital for treatment but left when the only option they presented to him was to amputate both hands. He is now unable to use his hands. When Sara learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for four and a half hours seeking treatment. On September 29th, surgeons at CSC will perform a debridement procedure to to help him preserve and heal both hands. Now, he needs help to fund this $787 procedure. Sara said, "I hope I can regain the use of my hands as soon as possible. My wife and I are worried so much about the loss of my hands because I will not be able to support my family without them."

Khin Htay is a 26-year-old-Araknese woman who lives with her younger sister in Yangon, Burma. She is in her final year of university. Her sister works as a seamstress in a shop and earns 200,000 kyat (approx.200 USD) per month. Their parents and their eldest sister are rice farmers in Rakhine State. Every year, they sell half of their harvest to earn an income. Htay's sister in Yangon sends their parents money occasionally, while their parents support Htay's medical expenses. The income that Khin Htay's sister earns is enough to cover their daily expenses and pay for basic health care. In 2018, Khin Htay started to feel very tired and could not sleep well at night. She also experienced chest pains if she walked anywhere far. She took traditional medicine which helped her feel and sleep better. However, she continued to feel tired and experience pain. One day in 2019, a neighbor who has a heart condition, told her that she could have a heart disease like her; the neighbor had also experienced the same symptoms. The neighbor advised her to seek treatment at Pinlon Hospital in Yangon, where the neighbor had undergone heart surgery. She decided to follow the neighbor's recommendation and also moved in with her sister in Yangon for extra support. In December 2019, Khin Htay went to Pinlon Hospital to see a cardiologist. After receiving an echocardiogram (echo), the doctor told her that two valves in her heart no longer work and that she would need to receive surgery to replace those valves. The doctor also told her that because her condition is not severe, she did not need surgery yet. She received six month's worth of medication and a follow-up appointment for June 17th, 2020. When she came back for her appointment, she received another echo and an x-ray. After checking her results, the doctor told her that her condition had progressed and she now needed surgery, which would cost 15,000,000 kyat (approx.15,000 USD). When they learned about the price of the procedure, Khin Htay and her sister lost hope of ever getting Khin Htay treatment; they could not afford to pay such a large sum of money. When she told a nurse at the hospital called Sandar Ko about their financial situation, the nurse told her about an abbot who might be able to help her. The abbot heads Kyaung Gyi Parahita Monastery and is a partner of Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF). Khin Htay called the abbot and asked for help accessing surgery. The abbot then referred Htay to Watsi's Medical Partner BCMF for assistance receiving treatment at Pinlon Hospital. Currently, Khin Htay feels tired and suffers from chest pains when she walks a lot. She cannot sleep very well at night and she feels short of breath at least twice a week. To try and cope with her symptoms mentally, she prays or recites Dhamma. She also tries to help her sister with household chore such as cooking and sweeping. She hopes that she will be able to continue her studies after surgery and she would like to work for the government as a civil servant once she graduates. Khin Htay shared, “When I graduate, I will work and support my parents because they are getting old and they will not be able to work on the farm in the future.”

Lewis is an eighth-grader from Kenya and the only child of a single mother who works as a bar maid. From the time he was born, he has been cared for by his grandmother who is older and is not working. His uncle will sometimes assist them with food, though he is also a casual driver and has his own family to care for too. Lewis was diagnosed with cryptorchidism, a condition in which one or both of the testicles remains undescended. If left untreated, Lewis has an increased risk of developing hernias, testicular cancer, and fertility problems in the future. Lewis will be receiving assistance from our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Fortunately, he is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on March 2nd. AMHF is requesting $459 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. “I brought my nephew because he has no one else to turn to. I hope he can get help so that he grow up like normal boys,” said Lewis's uncle.

Muiruri is an elderly man from rural Kenya. He has 7 children and one who has passed away. He lives on his farm in Muranga with his family. His children do farming for subsistence, and none make earnings enough to help raise funds for their father's medical bill. Muiruri was able to raise funds for his previous surgery and also used his National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF). Unfortunately, he has exhausted his NHIF limit due to his previous treatment. In 2019 he was involved a motorcycle accident and had a femur fracture on his left leg. He underwent an ORIF surgery and he was healing well. Early this year, as he was walking home, he slid and fell. The same leg that had an earlier femur fracture was fractured again and now doctors need to carry out an ORIF surgery so he can walk again. Currently, he is not able to walk on his own and he is in a lot of pain. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On June 29th, Muiruri will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. This procedure will help him walk easily again Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,500 to fund this procedure. "I will be happy to be able to walk without struggle and also assist my wife with farm work," Muiruri told us.

Cha is a 20-year-old young man from Burma. He lives with his father, older sister, brother-in-law, and three nieces in Hpapun Township of Karen State. Cha is a student and his oldest niece goes to school while the other two are still too young to attend. His father and brother-in-law are subsistence farmers while his sister is a homemaker. In his spare time, Cha loves to play cane ball and football with his friends. He also likes to help his family with farming during school holidays. Cha goes to the nearest high school to his village, located four to five hours away by motorbike in the village of Day Bu Noh. During the school year he lives in a dormitory and he does not have to pay for school and dormitory fees. On May 6th, Cha was getting ready to move back home for the summer holidays. He borrowed his friend’s motorbike and started the trip back to his village. Not long after he left Day Bu Noh Village, his motorcycle slipped on the uneven dirt road and he fell from the motorcycle. The next thing Cha remembered was waking up at a clinic in Day Bu Noh Village with his friend beside him. When he asked his friend what had happened, his friend told him that some of the villagers had found him unconscious on the side of the road and brought him to the clinic. The medic at the clinic examined Cha and told him that his lower jaw was fractured but they could not treat him at the clinic. The medic gave him injections and oral medications to help control the pain. Cha’s friend, who works for the district’s office in the Day Bu Noh village, told his superiors about Cha’s situation and that Cha did not know how he could receive treatment at another clinic in Mae Sot, Thailand where another friend works. However, due to the COVID-19 outbreak, Thailand had shut its borders to neighboring countries. His friend’s superiors were able to arrange for Cha to be brought to Mae Tao Clinic (MTC), accompanied by Cha’s friend. Cha was discharged from the clinic in Day Bu Noh Village on May 15th and started to make their way to MTC. After they crossed over into Thailand on a boat, Chan and his friend arrived at MTC on May 16th. At the clinic, the medic examined Cha before telling him that he will have to go to Mae Sot Hospital (MSH) for an x-ray. He also received some oral pain medication from the medic and, on May 20th, Cha received an x-ray at MSH. The x-ray showed that Cha had fractured his lower jaw in two locations, the left side and in the middle, as well as that the fracture was now infected. He was told that he will need to receive injections to treat the infection and that he will need surgery to help his jaw heal properly. Currently, Cha’s jaw is swollen and painful. He cannot eat solid food and is only able to eat boiled rice and drink liquid food. One of his teeth hurts and he cannot open his mouth wide. He is not able to speak properly, and his lower jaw is extremely painful, especially on the left side. With the help of our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, Cha will undergo surgery to reset his fractured bones and ensure proper healing. The procedure is scheduled for May 29th and will cost $1,500. The surgery will help Cha to be free from the pain and he will be able to talk properly again. “I feel sad that I cannot help my family during this summer holiday,” Cha said. In the future, Cha said that he plans to continue his studies next year at Mu Traw Junior College in Day Bu Noh Village. He is also interested in working with his friend at the district office in the branch that looks after the environment, forest, and wild animals.

Tola is a 28-year-old construction worker from Cambodia. He lives with his parents in the Takeo province. He has two sisters and four brothers. His favorite sport is football and after work he helps his parents at home. When he was a child, he began experiencing ear pain, discharge, and discomfort. When he tried cleaning the ear discharge himself with cotton at home it only made his condition worse. Tola had a serious ear infection, which caused a cholesteatoma, or an abnormal skin growth, to develop in the middle ear behind the ear drum. For this reason, Tola experiences hearing loss, tinnitus, and ear discharge. He has difficulty hearing clearly at work and throughout his day. Tola traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On April 29th, he will undergo a mastoidectomy procedure in his right ear. During this procedure, ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $925 to fund this procedure. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care. "I hope that after surgery I can hear everything better, my ear infection will stop, and especially that the discharge will go away. I want to go back to working at the construction site to support my parents and family," Tola said.

Nwe is a 36-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her family in Thingangkuun Township in Yangon Division. Nwe works as a seamstress at home while her husband works in a factory. In her free time, Nwe likes to play with her nephew who lives close by and also loves to watch movies at home. Nwe was diagnosed with a heart condition that involves a malformation of the mitral valve, the valve between the left atrium and left ventricle. This valve controls the flow of blood, but certain conditions may cause blood to flow backward or the valve to narrow. Currently, Nwe experiences tiredness especially when she walks for longer periods of time. If she feels tired, she also experiences heart palpitations. Sometimes, she also suffers from dizziness. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund a mitral valve replacement for Nwe. The treatment is scheduled to take place on March 24th and, once completed, will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably. Nwe shared, “I feel stressed about my condition. I am afraid to have surgery but there is no other option. I hope that after I have fully recovered from my surgery, I will be able to work as seamstress again.” Nwe’s husband is also worried for her and he has had to take time off from work to accompany her to all her appointments. He said, “I get paid daily for my work and if I do not work regularly then I have less income. Before, we were able to save some money from our work but since my wife was diagnosed with a heart problem and started to see the doctor for tests and medications, we can no longer save any money.”

Charles is a farmer from Kenya. He is married and a father of 7 children, with three of them in school. The cost of their education strains his income and leaves very little to meet daily cost of living. Together with his wife, they tend to their small ancestral land. In December 2019, he was assaulted by unknown individuals and suffered a fractured mandible. Charles is in pain and cannot chew his food or speak well. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On March 3rd, Charles will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and internal fixation. This procedure will help Paul heal well and no longer be in pain. He will also be able to chew his food and eat normally. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $640 to fund this procedure. Charles says, “Previous interventions have not been successful. I am hopeful that in Kijabe, I will have my fracture fixed.”

Aung is a 34-year-old man from Burma who lives with his wife, son, and daughter. Both he and his wife work as government officers. In his free time he likes to read books. Aung was diagnosed with a heart condition that involves a malformation of the mitral valve, the valve between the left atrium and left ventricle. This valve controls the flow of blood, but certain conditions may cause blood to flow backward or the valve to narrow. Currently, Aung feels tired, has chest pains, and has difficulty breathing. However, he can eat and sleep well. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund a mitral valve replacement for Aung. The treatment is scheduled to take place on January 27th and, once completed, will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably. “I want to go back to work [as a] healthy [person] and support my family,” said Aung.