Sa is a 36-year-old woman who likes to sew clothes. She also enjoys doing household chores and making delicious curries. Her husband is a nightguard at a hospital. Since 2015, Sa started to experience pain in her back and her pelvic area. Since December, her pain has worsened which makes it hard for her to sleep. She shared that she is feeling increasingly worried and depressed since she first experienced the pain and realized that she was unwell. Watsi donors helped support a CT scan and doctors have now diagnosed her with bilateral ovarian cancer. To help treat her condition, her doctors advised Sa to undergo a total abdominal hysterectomy, the surgical removal of her uterus and cervix. If left untreated, Sa's symptoms will continue to worsen and put her at risk for further health complications in the future. Fortunately, Sa is scheduled to undergo her hysterectomy on February 25th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of her procedure and care. Once recovered, she is hopeful that she'll no longer be in pain and will have a better shot at recovering from cancer. Sa said, "I was very worried when I heard that I needed surgery and that it would cost a lot of money. I was worried that if the donors stopped helping me, where would I come up with enough money to pay for my surgery. I could not sleep last night, constantly worrying about my treatment cost. When I called BCMF's staff and they told me that donors could pay for my surgery, I felt so much better. Thank you everyone for helping me."

Joan is a farmer and a mother from Rukungiri district in southwest Uganda. She is married and is a mother of six, with two sons, both studying in school, and four daughters, all of whom are married and small-scale farmers. She managed to complete seventh grade in primary school but never proceeded due to a lack of money for school fees. Joan and her husband do farming and grow food crops for home consumption, but often sell off the surplus to generate an income for their family. Five years ago, Joan began to experience troubling symptoms, including a lot of pain; she can’t turn her head sideways; she feels congested with difficulty breathing; she gets fatigued easily and has shortness of breath whenever she lies down to sleep. She first went to Kisiizi hospital, where she was diagnosed and was asked to first pay for her surgery, which she couldn’t raise, but when she was oriented about a surgical support program, she decided to come to see if she could be supported. She was diagnosed with a goiter and needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Joan receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on March 29th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $252, and she and her family need help raising money. Joan says, "I am really in deep pain, but I hope to get healed once I receive this surgery."

Costance is a 52-year-old primary teacher from southwestern Uganda. She is a mother to three children, two of whom are already married, and the youngest is in in the sixth grade. Costance's husband is a retired builder and has a cancer-related condition that prevents him from working. Costance's family can afford only the day-to-day essentials on her teaching salary. Costance is near retirement, but her medical condition may end her career early if not treated. Several years ago, Costance began to experience troubling symptoms, including anterior neck swelling, difficulties in speech, and coughing. These long-term symptoms have now affected her profession as a teacher making it difficult for Costance speak loud enough for students to hear. Costance is troubled by this as teaching is the only source of income for her family. Costance was diagnosed with a Thyroid Goiter and is at risk of having airway obstruction if not treated soon. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Costance receive necessary treatment. Constance is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on March 29th where surgeons will remove part of her thyroid gland. AMH is helping Costance and her family raise $252 to cover the cost of the procedure. Costance says,"I no longer sleep well these days as I sometimes stop breathing to the extent I feel like I am dying. I will be very grateful when my condition is treated soonest so that I may resume my profession."