Channeth is a 37-year-old vegetable farmer and mother of three. She lives with her husband and children in a rural area just outside of the capital city of Phnom Penh. Her two sons attend a nearby school, and her 3-year-old daughter is still at home. Channeth's husband also works as a vegetable farmer. As a family, they like to make Cambodian desserts, and play in the village. When she was seven years old, Channeth had an ear infection. This infection caused the tympanic membrane, or the ear drum, in her left ear to perforate. The torn ear drum is painful and causes discharge in the ear, which is often embarrassing. Also, Channeth cannot hear well, which makes it difficult to communicate clearly with others. Channeth traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On February 8th, she will undergo a myringoplasty in her left ear. During this procedure, surgeons will close the perforation. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $487 to fund this surgery, which covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care. Channeth shared, "I want to have surgery so that I can stop having this problem and feel healthier and so I can care for my family."

Samnang is a 31-year-old farmer from Cambodia. Residing in rural Kampong Speu province with his elderly parents and older brother, Samnang and his brother are subsistence rice farmers. What they do not eat, they sell at the local market in exchange for vegetables and other items. Before his injury, he enjoyed football matches with neighbors as part of everyday life. In September 2023, Samnang had a motorbike collision with a car, falling hard on his right shoulder on the pavement. This caused head trauma and paralysis of his right shoulder and arm. He was taken to a local hospital, where it was confirmed that he ruptured his brachial plexus, causing certain muscles to be unusable. The brachial plexus is a nerve network that transmits signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Injuries to this nerve network can result in loss of function and sensation. However, he was unable to afford the care that is required to help and has not been able to use his arm or work for the past four months. He has pain over his shoulder and no sensation in his forearm. Samnang traveled to Kien Khleang National Rehabilitation Centre to receive treatment. This is the only center in the whole country where this treatment is available. On January 30th, he will undergo a brachial plexus repair surgery. After recovery, he hopes to have some function of his right arm restored. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $709 to fund this procedure. Samnang said: "I hope I can use my hand again so I can work and my brother will not have to take care of me."

Gyan is a 14 year-old student joining high school this year from Kenya. He says that he is anxious but looking forward to upgrading to secondary school. He is the firstborn in a family of three children. His siblings are 5 and 12 years old. His father is the sole breadwinner who does hawking for a living. Income from this venture is inconsistent and therefore negligible to pay for the proposed surgery that Gyan needs. Gyan was diagnosed with cryptorchidism, a condition in which one or both of the testicles remains undescended. If left untreated, Gyan has an increased risk of developing hernias, testicular cancer, and fertility problems in the future. Gyan will be receiving assistance from our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH). Fortunately, he is scheduled to undergo corrective surgery on January 5th. AMH is requesting $646 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. Gyan's father says: “The boy is all grown now. I hope the condition is treated to avoid complications in the future.”