Justine is a 26-year-old businesswoman from Uganda. She owns a small food-selling outlet in her shopping center. With low sales, it is a challenge for her to raise enough money for rent and expand her business. Her husband operates a motorcycle taxi (bodaboda) with little income as well. Justine and her husband are currently expecting a second child. Unfortunately, Justine lost her firstborn child during delivery and she hopes to deliver a healthy baby with this pregnancy. During her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband. For this pregnancy, her doctors recommend that she deliver via a Caesarean section because of the short time between pregnancies and the scar from the last pregnancy. She needs to deliver via a Caesarean section to ensure the safety of both mother and child but is unable to raise the funds needed on her own. She appeals for help. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Justine undergo a Caesarean section on February 7th. This procedure will cost $252, and Justine needs your support. Justine says, “I hope to deliver a live and healthier baby and I will be glad thus able to resume my business of selling foodstuff.”

Nan is a 41-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her husband and two children. She is a homemaker and her husband is a day laborer. They also have a small garden where they grow betel nut and trees and raise cows, goats and chickens. She loves to take care of her garden during her free time. Nan was referred to BCMF to treat her severe heart condition (ASD) in Chiang Mai Hospital (CMH). After she arrived at our medical partner's Patient House in early March in the evening, she felt weak and tired. She also felt dizzy, had a headache and difficulty breathing. Unfortunately during the night, she suffered a seizure and fell semi-conscious. BCMF staff rushed her to the emergency room at CMH. Doctors want Nan 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 hopefully help doctors diagnose her condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $693 to cover the cost of Nan's urgent CT scan and care, scheduled for March 3rd. Nan’s husband said, "I am so worried about her but now, I can only wait and see. We have lived through some hard times and now, my wife is admitted in the emergency room.”

Negash, who is five years old, is the youngest of the six children in his family. Their family lives in rural Ethiopia, where his parents are farmers who grow wheat and barley. Additionally, they work as daily laborers on government construction projects to earn extra money to support their family. A few years ago, Negash's parents learned that he had been born with hypospadias, a congenital condition that causes urinary dysfunction. The doctors at the hospital in Sekota told the family that Negash would need to return for treatment when he turned four years old. As the hospital in Sekota could not perform the procedure required to address Negash's condition, a social worker accompanied the family to Addis Ababa, helping to cover all of their travel costs. However, the family needs money to pay for the surgery that Negash must have in order to prevent him from higher risk of cancer and infertility, and other worrying symptoms in the future. Fortunately, Negash is now scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on March 30th at BethanyKids Myungsung Christian Medical Centre. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $1,293 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Negash's father said: “I want my son to be completely well. I hope he will be well educated and become a president.”