Hok is a 27-year-old mother of two from Cambodia who lives in a rural province with her husband and sons. Her husband is a fisherman, and Hok stays home to care for their young children. She loves music, especially traditional Cambodian songs, and enjoys sewing clothing for herself and her children. Hok has had a recurring ear infection since she was five years old. The infection has caused a cholesteatoma- an abnormal skin growth- to develop in the middle ear behind her eardrum, leading to ear discharge, hearing loss, and tinnitus. Hok has difficulty hearing and is sometimes embarrassed to go out because of the pus from her ear. Hok traveled to our medical partners at the Children's Surgical Centre to receive treatment. On March 6th, she will undergo a mastoidectomy procedure in her left ear during which ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. CSC is requesting $926 to cover the procedure, medications, supplies, and inpatient care. Hok said, "I'm tired of having this my whole life. I want surgery to help my hearing and I want to be able to sleep without the ringing noise."

Pendo is a 2-week-old baby girl from Tanzania. Pendo is part of a large family of one father, two mothers, and 19 children. Pendo's mother joyfully welcomed her ninth child. Pendo and her family are from western Tanzania and farm rice, maize, and ground nuts on a small scale. The family consumes the harvest and sells some of the surplus to pay some home bills. It is a challenge financially to provide for a large family with small-scale farming. Pendo has clubfoot on her left foot. Clubfoot is a condition where the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and wearing shoes. Fortunately, Pendo's mother traveled to visit our medical partner's care center, Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre, where surgeons will perform clubfoot repair surgery on February 14th. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $935 to fund Pendo's clubfoot repair. After treatment, she will be able to walk easily. Pendo’s mother says, “I wish my daughter gets better like her older sibling[s] and grows up to have a good life ahead.”

Geninah is a hard working farmer and a mother of 10 children; five sons and five daughters. Two of her sons run a small-scale business while three sons and all her daughters are farmers. Education was not valued for her generation, so she didn't have the opportunity for school. Her wish was to be a nurse if she had the opportunity to study. She is married and she and her husband were small-scale farmers, but they no longer farm much these days. Currently, they depend on their banana and coffee plantation's seasonal yields for some irregular income. She loves singing and attending church service in her free time. For many years, Geninah has experienced troubling symptoms, including a neck swelling, constant cough like sensation, shortness of breath when lying down, pain during swallowing, and profuse sweating at night. She was diagnosed with a giant goiter. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Geninah receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on February 28th 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. Geninah says “I hope to get relieved from the pain I have been having and with your support, I hope my surgery will surely be possible.”