Phong is a lovely grandmother from Kampong Cham province, Cambodia. She is 77 years old and works as a street food vendor. She is a widow; her husband passed away six months ago due to liver disease. She has three sons, two daughters, and ten grandchildren. Currently, she lives with her third daughter, who works in a garment factory. In her free time, she enjoys visiting the pagoda. Five years ago, Phong developed a pterygium in her right eye, causing her excessive tearing, irritation, and redness, which made her feel uncomfortable. Pterygiums are non-cancerous growths of the conjunctiva, a mucous layer that lubricates the eye. The growths occur when the conjunctiva is exposed to excessive sun damage, wind, or dust, and the cells grow abnormally over the pupil. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, working, and going anywhere outside. When Phong learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for three hours seeking treatment. Phong needs a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the cornea surface and replace it with a conjunctival graft to prevent recurrence. She is scheduled for surgery on May 4th. Phong can contribute $25, but needs help raising $273 more to fund her procedure and care. Phong said, "I hope that after surgery, my vision will improve so I can see clearly again, move around easily, and continue going out to sell food as before."

Charity is a 60-year-old woman from Uganda. She grew up in a family of eight children, she is the fifth-born, with four brothers and three sisters. Her siblings all have families of their own and are farmers. After losing their father at a young age, their mother, who was also a farmer, could not afford school fees for all of them but managed to support Charity until she completed seventh grade. Charity and her husband are blessed with five sons. One works as a butcher, one works as a day labor on other people's farms, and the remaining three children are still in school. To make ends meet, Charity grows food crops for home consumption and sells the surplus to generate income for her family. Her husband works as a builder. About a year ago, Charity began to experience troubling symptoms, including a swelling on the front of her neck. Initially, it was painless, but she later began experiencing shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, frequent headaches, and painful swallowing. At first, she relied on painkillers, but they provided no relief. One day, while with a friend who noticed a significant increase in the size of her neck, she was advised that it could be a goiter. She then visited a hospital, but she was unable to raise the money needed for the procedure and returned home. For the past few months, she has been using traditional remedies, but none have provided any relief. While listening to a radio talk show, she learned about a surgical support program at Nyakibale Hospital that assists patients with conditions like hers. She decided to seek care there. She was diagnosed with a goiter. The thyroid is the gland located in front of your neck and produces thyroid hormones. These hormones are responsible for functions such as metabolism, growth and other bodily functions. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Charity receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on July 7th at Karoli Lwanga Hospital. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $252, and she and her family need help raising money. Charity says, “I don’t see any where to get the money needed for my surgery, but I have hopes that with your support, my surgery will be successful and I will get better.”

Matheo is a three-year-old preschooler from Haiti. He lives with his parents in a suburb of Port-au-Prince; his father is a police officer and his mother runs a small shop. In his free time Matheo enjoys singing. Matheo has a cardiac condition called pulmonic stenosis - one of the four valves of his heart is too narrow, and as a result blood cannot flow normally through his heart and body. If left untreated, this could lead to heart failure. Matheo will fly to the Dominican Republic to receive treatment. On May 6th, he will undergo cardiac surgery, during which surgeons will use a balloon on the end of a catheter to stretch the valve open to a more normal size. Another organization is contributing to pay for surgery. Matheo's family also needs help to fund the costs of surgery prep. Our medical partner, International Cardiac Alliance, is requesting $1,500 to cover labs, medicines, and check-up and follow-up appointments. It also supports securing travel documents for the family and travel costs for the social workers from our medical partner, who will accompany Matheo's family overseas. Matheo's mother said, "Our family would like to say thank you to everyone who is making it possible for Matheo to be healthy!"