Thein is a seven-year-old student from Burma. She lives with her mother and grandfather and is currently a first-grade student. Her father works as a driver at a toy factory in Bangkok and Thein’s mother stays home to care for her. The family relies on her father’s income, which is enough to cover their daily expenses. They are able to pay for basic healthcare, but they cannot afford expensive treatment costs. During her free time, Thein enjoys helping her mother with household chores. Currently, Thein faces difficulty seeing objects clearly, requiring the use of thick eyeglasses. Additionally, she must sit in the front row of the classroom, near the blackboard, to follow her teachers’ lesson. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund lens replacement surgery for Thein. On February 16th, doctors will perform a lens replacement, during which they will remove Thein's natural lenses and replace them with an intraocular lens implant in each eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Now, she and her family need help to fund this $1,500 procedure. Thein’s mother said, “Thank you [BCMF and donors] for helping my daughter to get a good and clear vision. I pray for the donors to have wealthy lives and continue helping others.” Thein also said, “I want to be a teacher when I grow up and thanks for your help.”

Dickson is a married man from a village in Lilongwe District. He has one child who is in primary school, and to support his family, he depends on a motorcycle transport business locally known as Kabaza. He also practices small-scale farming where he grows maize, tomatoes, and groundnuts for consumption and commercial purposes. Dickson was hit by a car while he was on his motorcycle, and he sustained a fracture to his left upper arm. He was rushed to our medical partner's Nkhoma Hospital the same night where he was diagnosed with distal radius fracture, and he was scheduled to undergo open reduction and internal fixation surgery. However, Dickson cannot afford to pay for the surgery although he is willing to pay the little that he can afford. This condition has had a negative impact on Dickson’s life as he feels pain from the fracture, and he is worried about his family’s well-being as he will not be able to work on his farm or his business due to the fracture. If the condition is left untreated, pain and swelling may continue to worsen over time and there might be a misalignment of the fractured bone. Our medical partner African Mission Healthcare is requesting $525 to fund his surgery. After treatment, Dickson will be relieved of his pain and able to work to support his family again. Dickson says, “I have no idea how I will take care of my family with no income from my business. I hope to get well soon.”

Nyunt is a 50-year-old father of three from Burma. Nyunt and his wife stay home and care for the kids and their nephew. They cultivate and sell bananas and beetle nuts for a living. During his leisure time, Nyunt enjoys spending time with his family. Nyunt is a former patient of Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF) who received surgery for his renal stone problem with the help of Watsi in 2020. He had been in good health until earlier this year when he suddenly started experiencing difficulty passing urine. The doctor diagnosed him with bladder stones after conducting an X-ray and ultrasound. Doctors want Nyunt to undergo a CT scan, a procedure in which X-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will help doctors diagnose his condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Nyunt's CT scan and care, scheduled for March 5th. Nyunt said, "When I get healthy, I want to continue planting more beetle nut and banana plants on my property, as space still exists. They need some years to grow, but I think I can sell the fruits in the future."