Thu Ra is a 13-year-old boy from Burma who lives with his family in Karen State. Thu Ra is the youngest of his three siblings. His father is a day labourer and his mother is a homemaker. Around seven years ago, Thu Ra started experiencing a loss of appetite and feelings of dizziness along with muscle tightness and pain throughout his body. He was diagnosed with thalassemia, a blood disorder that causes the body to have less hemoglobin than normal. Physicians at Mae Sot General Hospital determined Thu Ra should undergo a splenectomy, surgery to remove the spleen, which will help manage his condition. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund this procedure. The treatment is scheduled to take place at Mae Sot General Hospital on April 1st. Once completed, Thu Ra's quality of life is expected to improve. Thu Ra's mother said, “If Thu Ra gets better, I wish for him to finish school and become an educator. Thank you so much to the donors. If it were just up to me, I couldn’t afford the surgery on my own. It means a lot to me and my family. Thank you.”

Samnang is a two-year-old boy from Cambodia. He lives in Phnom Penh with his parents and his 3-year-old brother. His mother stays home to care for the children and his father is in the army. At home, Samnang likes to play with his toys and enjoys eating fried chicken prepared by his mother. At birth, Samnang was diagnosed with arthrogryposis, a term used to describe a variety of conditions involving multiple joint and muscle contractures or stiffness. As a result of this condition, Samnang has clubfoot on both feet. Clubfoot is a condition where the foot is rotated. This causes pain and difficulty walking. Samnang traveled for one and a half hours to visit our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). There, surgeons will perform a bilateral tendon release and insert a K-wire on March 1st. CSC is requesting $444 to fund Samnang's clubfoot repair. After treatment and therapy, he will be able to walk and be more active. Samnang's mother said, "I hope after surgery, my son will learn to walk, have no pain, and keep up with his older brother."

Janet is a small-scale farmer from Uganda. She completed her education up to the primary level but had to withdraw due to lack of school fees. She got married at the age of sixteen and together with her husband, they have seven children. The family has a small piece of land that Janet and her husband cultivate. Their earnings from this are very modest and unfortunately some of their children have had to drop out of school due to financial constraints. Ten months ago, Janet started experiencing some troubling symptoms, including severe abdominal pains. She was diagnosed with a large irregular intra-peritoneal cystic mass. She has been experiencing great discomfort which has deteriorated her health and has directly impacted their family income. Physicians recommended a laparotomy, which is a surgery that opens up the abdominal cavity to treat her condition. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $279 to fund Janet's treatment. On March 7th, she will undergo surgery at Uganda Martyr's Ibanda Hospital. Once completed, this procedure will greatly improve her quality of life. Janet says, "I was already worried about how we shall raise the hospital funds but to my surprise, God already had a plan for us. I have high hopes of having a successful surgery, and I know everything will move on smoothly. I will be able to resume my usual activities of farming, and my children will be able to go back to school and complete their studies.’’