Vicky is a friendly 38-year-old mother to four boys aged between 2 and 12 years old. She lives in a three-room semi-permanent house with her family. Her husband is a small-scale maize farmer who works tirelessly to support his family. Vicky has a big anterior neck swelling that moves when swallowing. The swelling has been there for ten years now and has been gradually increasing in size, with pain that aggravates her when she lifts heavy things. Vicky states that she first developed goiter when she was a form two student. It was removed in 2007 in a Ugandan hospital, but reappeared three years later. Vicky began to experience troubling symptoms, including being unable to eat, drink, or sleep comfortably. She had an especially difficult time when she was expecting her children. Neighbors always help her with home chores as her children are still young and her health condition limits her physical capacity. Sometimes she has elevated blood pressure that causes angina. At our medical partner's hospital, she was diagnosed with Multinodular Thyroid Cyst. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Vicky receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on February 21st at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $936, and she and her family need help raising the funds. Vicky says, ”I am so stressed with what I am going through. I would love to work together with my husband in order to provide for our family, but my health status cannot allow me. Please help me because I am optimistic that I will get well someday and be able to help.”

Yam is a retired rice farmer. He is 75 years old and lives in Kampong Cham province in Cambodia. He has two sons, three daughters, and six grandchildren. Nowadays, he lives with his wife and his youngest daughter, who is a rice farmer. In his free time, he enjoys going to the pagoda to pray. About two years ago, Yam developed a cataract in his right eye, causing him itchiness, tearing, and blurry vision. He has difficulty seeing things clearly, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking, thus is unable to travel on his own. When Yam learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for three hours seeking treatment. On May 8th, doctors will perform a small incision cataract surgery and place an intraocular lens implant in his right eye. After recovery, he will be able to see clearly. Now, he needs help to fund this $253 procedure. Yam shared, "I hope I can see more clearly and recognize my grandchildren."

Sombo is a 40-year-old father and street cart owner from Cambodia. He and his wife earn a living by selling beef sandwiches from their street cart. They have one son, who is in the first grade. In his free time, Sombo likes to learn more styles of cooking to make their food cart more successful. In mid-April, Sombo was in a motor vehicle accident that caused a fracture in his right knee. Consequently, it is difficult for him to walk and he is in chronic pain. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), can help. On May 2nd, Sombo will undergo a fracture repair procedure that will help him walk easily again. CSC is requesting $483 to fund this procedure. Sombo contributed $85 to his care. Sombo shared: "After surgery, I hope that the fracture will heal and I can go back to work and spend time with my son."