Owoyesiga is a farmer from Uganda. She is a married mother to five children who are all in school, both in primary and secondary levels. She earns a living through small-scale farming were she mostly grows food crops like beans, maize, cassava, and potatoes for home consumption and at times sells off the supplies to earn an income. When Owoyesiga is in need of an urgent income like when her children are sent home for lacking school fees and when her family is in need of essential needs like paraffin, soap, and salt, she works as a casual laborer in other people’s farms to get money more quickly. She operates their small farm together with her husband.
Almost five years ago, Owoyesiga began to experience troubling symptoms, including difficulty breathing and pain when swallowing. She was diagnosed with an abnormal enlargement of her thyroid gland and needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Owoyesiga receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on May 14th at our medical partner’s care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $264, and she and her family need help raising money.
Owoyesiga says, “I hope that once I undergo surgery, I will be healed from my condition. I will live a healthy life and continue with cultivation to support my family.”
