Nak is the matriarch of a close-knit family consisting of six members. Widowed after the death of her husband, she lives with her oldest daughter, who works in a clothing factory, her son-in-law, and their children. She has a grandson in grade eight, a granddaughter in grade four, and a lively four-year-old who stays home with Nak. Since retiring from farming, Nak has taken responsibility for cooking and cleaning. Nak's health poses significant challenges. Diagnosed with diabetes six years ago, she battles the effects of a persistent wound on her left toe. There was an unfortunate incident with a penetrating injury from a thorn, which went untreated for a long time. She was referred to our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, for diagnosis and treatment. Doctors have diagnosed her with dry gangrene. The blood supply to her toe has been cut off due to her diabetes, and the toe has become dry and turned black. Nak is in pain and feels poorly. Although her diabetes is under control, she is weak and must use a wheelchair. Surgery is necessary to prevent the gangrene from spreading and to allow the surrounding healthy tissue to heal. To address the issue and avoid further pain, an amputation of her toe is proposed. Doctors plan to take her to surgery on January 2nd. Now her family needs help with the cost of her surgery and her care. Our medical partner is requesting $479. This will cover the procedure, post-operative hospitalization, medications, and physical therapy. Nak's daughter said: "After surgery, we hope she can walk easier with no pain, and no infection."

Nyi is a 22-year-old man from Thailand. He lives in the monastery with two other monks. He helps the monk with cooking, cleaning, and looking after the monks. He receives free food and free accommodation. He has no income but has enough food. Originally from Burma, his aim of coming to Thailand was to look for better job opportunities and also to seek treatment but because of his condition, he does not have job and ended up living in the monastery. In December 2022, Nyi started experiencing some headaches and blurred vision. He went to the local eye clinic and his eyes were tested and he received a pair of eyeglasses. However, the eyeglasses did not help him see better so the doctor suggested him to have further investigation and possibly a computerized scan (CT). Nyi had no money so he did not pursue further investigation of his symptoms. He was looking for a way to get treatment and finally arrived in Thailand and visited Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) in November 2023. After meeting with the doctor at MTC, the doctor told him to go to Mae Sot Hospital (MSH) for further investigation and explained to him that his eyes looked normal but there might be a tumor that is causing his blurred vision, the doctor then recommended he undergo a CT scan to confirm his diagnosis and make the best plan for his care. Doctors want Nyi 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 his condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Nyi's CT scan and care, scheduled for January 30th. Nyi said, "I want to recover and get a job so that I can earn money for my living."

Recheal is a 20-year-old from Kenya. She is studying in secondary school but has been unable to attend school for the last three months due to her condition. Recheal is the sixth born in a family of eleven children. Her parents are small-scale farmers, growing maize and beans for their family’s home use. Recheal does not have medical coverage, and her parents had to sell cattle and maize to raise Ksh 120,000.00 ($783) to cover her initial surgery costs. Recheal needs to undergo urgent surgery, and her family is requesting financial assistance. Recheal has been diagnosed with an abdominal bile leak that is causing her discomfort and pain. Her doctors have recommended surgery to ease the pain and enable her to resume her studies. She first experienced painful stomach swelling in August 2023. She visited a local health center and was treated for worms, which relieved her of pain for a while, but it recurred with time. She then visited our medical partner’s hospital for review. At the beginning of November, she received a CT scan that showed a liver cyst that required surgery. She underwent a laparotomy to remove the cyst on November 23rd. Four days later, the doctors identified a bile leakage that needed to be rectified. She is now scheduled for emergency surgery on November 28th to fix the fatal condition. African Mission Healthcare (AMH) is requesting $1,074 to fund this surgery. Recheal said, “I have missed school for three months now. This procedure will help ease stomach pain and enable me to return to school.”