Sot is a retired rice farmer from Kompong Thom province in Cambodia. She is 79 years old with four children and twenty grandchildren. She is widowed and never remarried following the death of her husband during the Khmer Rouge. She lives with one of her daughters, who works for a local construction company. Sot spends most of her time looking after the house and her grandchildren. In her free time, she likes to visit the village pagoda but has been scared to cross the road since her vision has deteriorated. About six months ago, Sot developed a cataract in her left eye, causing her photophobia, tearing, and blurry vision. She feels a loss of independence and experiences difficulty going up and down the stairs in her traditional raised home. A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye, so it is like looking through a frosty or fogged-up window. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking, so is not able to go places on her own. When Sot learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for three hours seeking treatment. On April 18th, doctors will perform a small incision cataract surgery and an intraocular lens implant in her left eye. Sot is able to contribute $100 but needs help to raise $153 to fund this procedure. Sot shared, "I would like to be able to see clearly and do things on my own. I also want to look after my grandchildren."

Juliana is an 86-year-old woman from Lilongwe District in Malawi. She is a mother of three children, who unfortunately did not complete their school studies due to financial constraints. Currently, all three of her children are married and living in their own homes, but are struggling financially. With her husband deceased, Anna relies on the kindness of others for assistance as she is no longer able to support herself in her old age. For a period of eight years, Juliana has lived with a swelling on the right side of her neck that started as a pimple. Presently, Juliana has been feeling pain from the swelling and is unable to carry any load on her head due to severe headaches. She has been to different health centers in search of a solution until she visited our medical partner care center, Nkhoma Hospital. A biopsy was done and she was diagnosed with pleomorphic adenoma, which is is a benign tumour that affects the salivary glands. She has been scheduled to undergo parotidectomy surgery. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Juliana receive treatment. On April 9th, surgeons at Nkhoma Hospital will perform a parotidectomy which will ease her pain symptoms and treat her condition. Now, Juliana needs help to fund this $491 procedure. Juliana says, “I’m looking forward to the treatment, thank you for the support.”

Thi Ha is a three-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his mother and an older sister in a village in Karen State, Burma. His mother is a stay-at-home parent, and his sister goes to school. His father works in Bangkok, Thailand, as a cleaner in a market to support his family. When Thi Ha was born, his mother noticed a mass at the bottom of Thi Ha’s spine. As he grew older, the mass grew larger and started causing him pain, even if something soft touched it. Thi Ha and his mother visited our medical partner’s care center, Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, where the doctors wanted Thi Ha to undergo an MRI to diagnose his condition and prepare an appropriate treatment plan for Thi Ha. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $968 to cover the cost of Thi Ha’s MRI and care, scheduled for February 13. His mother said, “Sometimes his friends do not care and ignore him because of his disease. Then Thi Ha feels embarrassed and upset with his friends.”