Chea is a 57-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. She has three sons, two daughters, and eight grandchildren. She enjoys listening to the monks pray on the radio in her free time. Five years ago, Chea developed a pterygium in both eyes, causing her irritation, burning, photophobia, 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 and the cells grow abnormally over the pupil. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, working, and going anywhere outside. When Chea learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for four and a half hours seeking treatment. Chea needs a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the cornea surface and replace it with a conjunctival graft to prevent recurrence. The total cost of her procedure is $216. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care for two days. The procedure is scheduled for January 6th. "I hope that the tearing and burning will stop, and I will be able to recognize things and return to my work," Chea said.

Ngoun is a 43-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. She has two sons, and enjoys watching Khmer dramas on television in her free time. Ten years ago, Ngoun developed a pterygium in both eyes, causing her blurry vision, irritation, and tearing. 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 and the cells grow abnormally over the pupil. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, working, and going anywhere outside. When Ngoun learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for two hours seeking treatment. Ngoun needs a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the cornea surface and replace it with a conjunctival graft to prevent recurrence. The total cost of her procedure is $216. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care for two days. The procedure is scheduled for January 13th. "I hope that the irritation in my eyes will go away and I will be able to see better and go back to planting rice and crops again," she shared.

Tugumisirize is a small-scale farmer from Uganda. She is married with seven children, with the youngest still home and doesn’t know whether she will make it to continue with education due to lack of money in their family. Though she is married, Tugumisirize lacks social support from her husband as he went to a faraway place. Since 2015, Tugumisirize began to experience troubling symptoms, including loss of weight, neck pain and chest pain. She was diagnosed with a goiter, an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Tugumisirize receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy at our medical partner's care center. This procedure will cost $240, and she and her family need help raising money. Tugumisirize says, “I hope to get a better quality of life after surgery to I continue with faming and if I work I will support the education of my child beyond primary level.”