Savoeun resides in Kampong Cham province with her two children, a son and a daughter, who help her with the farm and household chores. As a widow, she has been the sole provider for her family since her husband's passing several years ago. Together, they work long hours in the fields to cultivate enough rice to feed themselves and for sale at the market for additional necessities. In the evening, Savoeun likes to keep her house clean or listen to the radio. On December 20th, Savoeun slipped in the bathroom, and immediately felt great pain, but could not afford to visit a clinic. She endured weeks of persistent pain and navigated life from a wheelchair, when a villager suggested she should visit our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, for a consultation. She and her daughter traveled for six and a half hours where surgeons diagnosed her with a fracture of the neck of her left femur. Femoral neck fractures are among the most common fractures in the elderly population, with a high mortality risk. Her doctors have planned a hip reconstruction procedure, where the femoral head and neck are replaced with a reconstruction prosthesis called a hip hemiarthroplasty. Now Savoeun and her family need help with the cost of the $544 procedure. The surgery will repair her fracture and allow her to walk again. Savoeun's daughter shared: "We hope my mother can walk again and be without pain after her surgery."

Srey Touch is a 44-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. She has two daughters, three sons, and an infant grandchild. She enjoys spending time with her family at home and cooking for everyone. In her free time, Srey Touch reads the news on Facebook and watches Cambodian dramas on TV. About ten years ago, Srey Touch developed a pterygium in her right eye, causing her to experience itchiness, tearing, and blurry vision. 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, leading the cells to grow abnormally over the pupil. As a result of this condition, Srey Touch has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, working, and going outside. When Srey Touch learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), she traveled for an hour seeking treatment. On February 8th, Srey Touch will undergo a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the cornea surface and replace it with a conjunctival graft to prevent recurrence. CSC is requesting $225 to fund this procedure, which covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care for two days. Srey Touch said: "I hope, after surgery, my eye will stop feeling irritated and I can go back to my job and my family without being uncomfortable."

Wishes is a 5-year-old who hails from a village in Lilongwe District. She is the last born in a family of 3 children and is a bright young student in primary school. Wishes’ parents depend on small-scale farming where they grow maize and groundnuts for their family to eat and for commercial purposes to support the family. Since she was born, Wishes has been experiencing a painful abdomen, vomiting, frequent diarrhea, and feeling weak. Her mother has been taking her to Nkhoma Hospital where she was advised to come back to meet a surgeon for assessment. Wishes was diagnosed with a periumbilical hernia, and she was scheduled to undergo hernia repair surgery at Nkhoma Hospital. However, her parents cannot afford the surgery although they hope to have their daughter undergo surgery. This condition has had a negative impact on Wishes’s life as she feels abdominal pain and cannot go to school when this happens, therefore, affecting her school performance. If the condition is left untreated, it may lead to strangulation which can be life-threatening. Wishes is scheduled for hernia repair surgery on February 13th. Our medical partner African Mission Healthcare is requesting $421 to fund surgery. After surgery, Wishes will be relived of pain and she will be able to attend school without any hindrances from the condition. Wishes’ mother says, “Thank you for this opportunity that has brought new hope to my daughter.”