Vireach is a three-year-old toddler who lives with his parents and his older brother in Kampong Cham province. His mother sells groceries from the front of their home and his father is a rice farmer. At home, he and his brother like to play with toy cars. His favorite meal is fresh fried fish from the Mekong River, which flows through Kampong Cham province. Vireach has strabismus in both eyes. Strabismus is a misalignment of the eye caused by injury or dysfunction in the associated nerves and muscles. The condition is called exotropia, where he uses only one eye to look at an object while the other eye turns outward. His eyes do not aim at the same place accurately or simultaneously. If left untreated, Vireach may have difficulty reading and suffer from permanent poor vision as he grows older. Vireach and his parents traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On March 2nd, surgeons at our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), will perform a corrective procedure to align his eyes. Now, Vireach's family needs help to raise $331 to fund his eye procedure. Vireach's mother said: "I hope after the surgery his eye looks straight like other children so he doesn’t feel shy."

Alvin is a 1-year-old boy and the youngest child in his family with two older brothers. He clings to his mother when meeting with our representatives in the hospital. His mother is a farmer of their small piece of land. His father operates a boda boda moto-taxi business. Their income goes to meeting the rental expense for their one-roomed house, and they do not have surplus to fund Alvin's treatment. Recently, Alvin has developed a bilateral inguinal hernia. He cries a lot as the area is sensitive and whenever he coughs. He is quite restless and has to sleep in a particular position. This has affected his day-to-day life and his mothers. He needs an inguinal hernia repair to avoid the hernia becoming strangulated. Fortunately, on January 24th, he will undergo hernia repair surgery at our medical partner's care center. African Mission Healthcare is requesting $230 to fund Alvin's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will allow him to live more comfortably and confidently. Alvin's mother says: “I wish to see my son get well after surgery and I think with your support, all will be possible.”

Chamroeurn is a 20-year-old soccer player from Cambodia. He lives with his mother and father in Preah Sihanouk province. His father is a fisherman, and his mother is a homemaker. Chamroeurn plays soccer and is hoping to get a soccer scholarship to attend university. Last year, while training, he tripped over and fell without any collision. He tore a meniscus- a cartilage that acts as a shock absorber between the shinbone and the thighbone- and ruptured a ligament in his right knee. Chamrouern has pain, swelling, and loss of range of motion in his right knee. He continues to have a feeling of instability or "giving way" while bearing any weight on his knee and requires pain medication. Missing out on training and competing has affected his emotional and social well-being, as well as his identity as a fierce competitor. When Chamroeurn learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for five hours seeking treatment. On February 17th, surgeons at CSC will perform an anterior cruciate ligament repair procedure to relocate and secure his right knee. Chamroeurn needs help to fund this $600 procedure. Chamroeurn said: "After surgery, I hope that I can play soccer again and get the scholarship. This will help me to support my parents."