Joseph is a young boy from Tanzania. He is the fifth born child in a family of 7 children and also comes from a polygamous family and has 10 siblings inclusive of his step-siblings. His parents are small scale farmers in Northern Tanzania. His father often traverses into Kenya to sell Masai herbal medicine to supplement income and meet the daily demands of his big family. When Joseph was two years old, he slipped by boiling tea in his mother's hut. He suffered burns on his right hand and right side of his head. He spent several months in the hospital recuperating from the burns. Unfortunately, he healed with contractures on his right hand that has limited his ability to use his right hand. Joseph had surgery in October to release his wrist and now he needs to have another surgery to have his fingers released. Joseph is struggling to write in his class one studies due to contractures on his right hand. He has to learn how to write with his left hand. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Joseph receive treatment. On January 7th, surgeons at their care center will perform a burn contracture release surgery to he will be able to use his hand and even move his fingers independently. Now, he needs help to fund this $832 procedure. Joseph says, “I like how my hand looks now, and I am able to use my hand to carry things. I hope that if I get another surgery it will look more okay.”

Joel is a 21-year-old nursing student. Two years ago, Joel started feeling some pain at the back of his throat. He is now struggling with symptomatic tonsillitis grade two hypertrophy and has been managing the condition with medications. However, he was reviewed and surgery recommended to control the recurrent condition. Joel is not able to sleep well at night, swallows with difficulties and has lost considerable weight due to poor appetite. Joel comes from a humble background. His parents are peasant farmers relying on maize farming to provide for their four children. Their income is usually strained by school fees demands and daily upkeep. Joel, who hopes to become a nurse, has been missing classes from time to time due to lack of school fees. His parents are not able to raise the funds needed and he appeals for help.

Phoeun is a 62-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. She has four children, six grandchildren, and enjoys listening to the monks pray on the radio in her free time. Five year ago, Phoeun developed a pterygium in left, causing her irritation, itchiness, and tearing. Pterygiums are non-cancerous growths of the conjunctiva, a mucous layer that lubricates the eye. The growths occur when the conjunctiva is exposed to excessive sun damage and the cells grow abnormally over the pupil. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, working, and going anywhere outside. When Phoeun learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for four and a half hours seeking treatment. Phoeun needs a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the cornea surface and replace it with a conjunctival graft to prevent recurrence. The total cost of her procedure is $201. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care for two days. The procedure is scheduled for October 09. Phoeun said, "I hope that I will be able to see clearly, go outside on my own, and will be able to plant rice again."