“After my surgery, I will go for a thanksgiving mass in church,” says Kahunzire, a 31-year-old woman from Uganda.
Kahunzire used to work in a supermarket, but when her father fell ill, she had to quit her job to take care of him. Her mother is also sickly. Since then, Kahunzire has returned to work—this time, as a subsistence farmer producing food for the family to eat—and her brother provides the family with some money from his job as a teacher.
In August last year, Kahunzire received surgery for an umbilical hernia through Watsi’s funding. The surgery and initial recovery period went smoothly, but three months after the procedure, Kahunzire noticed a swelling in her left groin region—the same condition that she had had before.
Soon she was experiencing the standard hernia symptoms again: back and lower abdominal pain, and an inability to bend for a long time while digging (which has decreased her ability to farm). If not treated, Kahunzire may suffer the even more severe effects of hernia, such as the potentially fatal twisting and blocking of her small intestine.
Fortunately, though, that does not have to be Kahunzire’s fate. For $249, we can fund her second hernia repair operation on October 11. This sum will also cover her lab tests, medications, and three-day hospital stay.
“I want to be able to continue farming because it is our source of food for our family,” Kahunzire adds. Let’s make that possible for her.