Raj's Story

Raj joined Watsi on March 12th, 2013. Seven years ago, Raj joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Raj's most recent donation traveled 1,900 miles to support Christopher, a 12-year-old boy from Haiti, to fund heart surgery.

Impact

Raj has funded healthcare for 109 patients in 14 countries.

Patients funded by Raj

Leonard is a 14-year-old boy from Mpanda, Tanzania. Leonard's parents manage a small farm that provides their family with food. They also take on various additional jobs during the day, including helping on other people's farms, washing clothes, and cleaning yards, to support their family. Despite their hard work, Leonard's parents have a hard time supporting their five children and Leonard's grandparents. Leonard was diagnosed with genu varus, a condition where his legs bow outwards. This condition is typically caused by an excessive accumulation of fluoride in the bones, which often stems from contaminated drinking water. Due to his condition, Leonard has difficulty walking and participating in daily activities. However, as a result of financial constraints, Leonard's family has been unable to seek treatment for him. An outreach team directed by our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), visited Leonard's village and spread the news about available treatment for genu varus. As a result, Leonard's parents were motivated to seek treatment for their son at AMH's care center. AMH is requesting $880 to fund corrective surgery for Leonard. Leonard's procedure is scheduled for June 6th. This treatment will reduce the discomfort in his legs, restore his mobility, greatly decrease his risk of future complications, and allow him to resume his daily activities. Leonard says, "I am glad that after a long wait, I get to have treatment that will make my legs better. I can't wait to enjoy playing soccer with my friends and helping my parents at the farm."

$880raised
Fully funded

Tha Zin is a 43-year-old woman from Thailand. She lives in a refugee camp in Tak Province with her husband and two sons. Tha Zin and her husband run a shop in the refugee camp. Their total monthly income is not enough to cover their basic expenses, and sometimes Tha Zin needs to borrow money with interest from her neighbor for her children’s school expenses. Tha Zin shared that in her free time she loves reading the Bible, praying, and knitting hats for her family. In 2022, Tha Zin started to experience pain when sitting. She also experienced bleeding in a sensitive area. In the refugee camp, they receive free basic health care from the International Rescue Committee (IRC). Tha Zin went to the hospital in the refugee camp, where they completed a physical examination, diagnosed her with severe hemorrhoids, and provided her with basic medication. While Tha Zin took the medication, she felt relieved, but after she finished her medication, the pain worsened, and she experienced increased swelling and inflammation. As time went on, the pain worsened. She felt it was harder to stand up, walk or sit. Currently, Tha Zin feels like she has less energy and has difficulty completing her everyday tasks. She also experiences difficulty sleeping due to her worries about her condition. Tha Zin sought treatment through our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund. She is now scheduled to undergo surgery on June 2nd at our partner's care center. Tha Zin needs your help to raise $1,500 to cover the cost of her procedure and care. Tha Zin said, “Because of my illness, I had to close my shop and leave my two children with my relatives. So, I worry about them. But I am thankful to those who will support my surgery because I cannot afford to pay for it by myself. When I recover, I will reopen my shop and pay back my debt that I borrowed for my children’s school expenses. If my family has the opportunity to do so, I want us to be resettled in a new country one day.”

$1,500raised
Fully funded

Daniel is a 10-year-old student from Ethiopia. He is in second grade and loves school. His favorite subject is English. He also loves playing football and games with friends, eating fruits and eggs with injera. He is the fifth child in the family with four older brothers. Both parents are daily laborers on a farm and get income by sharing the profit during harvest with the landowner. They use the income to feed the family and also sell some of the produce to buy other goods for the house. During the rainy season, they engage in other labor work such as chopping wood, gardening and delivery of different goods. Even though their family income is sufficient to support the basic needs of their family, it is a challenge to afford Daniel's surgery. Daniel was born with hypospadias, a congenital disease that causes urinary dysfunction. Without treatment, he will continue to experience uncomfortable symptoms. Earlier he had two surgeries with Bethany Kids Myungsung Christian Medical Centre (BKMCM). For the third surgery, he had to wait for four years. The wait made him drop out of school and has affected his mental wellbeing. Fortunately, Daniel is now scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on February 28th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,293 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Daniel's dad said “I will be happy if my son completely heals and becomes free from shame. I am eager to send him back to school.”

$1,293raised
Fully funded

Tony is a 23-year-old student from Kenya. He was raised by a single mom and shared that she passed away a few years ago. He now lives with his elderly grandparents in rural Kenya. Tony has six siblings, who are all in school. Tony is in his third year at the university, where he is studying industrial chemistry. Unfortunately, he had to miss his end-of-semester exams because of his injuries and the need to use his school fees to cover his treatment costs. Tony also works part-time as a writer, but the income is insufficient to cover his school and medical bills. At the end of March, Tony was attacked by a group of people who took his valuables and hit him with a blunt object, causing serious injuries on the left side of his face. Tony was rushed to a nearby health facility for first aid and referred to a government hospital in the city the next day. The CT scan images revealed fractures in his face. Tony urgently needs to undergo surgery for his bones to heal properly. It is also difficult for him to open his mouth or eat due to his injuries. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On April 18th, Tony will undergo a fracture repair procedure called an open reduction and internal fixation. The procedure will help him eat and chew comfortably, and he will be able to resume his studies. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is requesting $979 to fund this procedure. Tony said: “I missed my exams because of the injury. I cannot eat or chew anything. I need this surgery to be able to eat and use my mouth well again.”

$979raised
Fully funded