Zaw lives with his mother, two sisters, two nephews, and two nieces in Mon State in Burma. His mother is retired, and his youngest niece and nephew go to school. His niece works as a betel nut cutter with his two sisters, while his nephew works as a day laborer. Zaw cannot work right now due to the pain in his foot. In his free time, he enjoys praying to Buddha and watching movies, which also helps him feel better. Around the end of September, Zaw developed pain in his left foot. A few weeks later, three of his toes turned black. Eventually, all of his toes, and his forefoot turned black too. When he went to Mawlamyine Christian Leprosy Hospital (MCLH) a couple weeks ago, he was diagnosed with gangrene and was admitted to the hospital straight away. At first the doctor tried to treat him with oral medication, injections and physiotherapy exercises to increase the blood supply in his left foot. When this did not work, Zaw was told that the best option is to amputate his foot. Unable to pay for surgery, the doctor referred him to our partner Burma Children Medical Fund for assistance accessing further treatment. Currently, Zaw is in a lot of pain. His left forefoot is black and swollen. As the pain is worse at night, he cannot sleep properly. He also has difficulty sleeping because he is worried about his foot and their financial situation. "Once I have recovered from surgery and I have received a prosthetic foot, I want to support my family and become a taxi driver," he said. "Thank you so much to the donors for supporting me. Every day I pray for them."

Believe is a loving two-year-old boy. He is not in school yet and he likes playing with his friends whenever he is given an opportunity. He is the only child born to his parents who are small-scale farmers. They own a two-room mud house. Since November 2021, Believe has had a right inguinal hernia. He developed a swelling and was rushed to a nearby health unit. He was given medication to reduce his pain but his family did not see much improvement. His parents decided to use herbs but still, there was no change. He cries a lot whenever the swelling appears and he needs surgery to heal his condition. His parents are appealing for support. Fortunately, on January 8th, he will undergo hernia repair surgery at our medical partner's care center. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $170 to fund Believe's surgery. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably and confidently. Believe’s mother says, “My son is no longer able to play with his friends comfortably in his current condition and it is very much worrying. My husband and I cannot afford the surgery and seek financial help. We hope that he will be able to start school comfortably after surgery.”

Asbel is a young farmer and the firstborn in a family of six. Asbel lives with his mother and siblings since their father passed away. The 28-year-old does farming to earn a living and sometimes is able to do other casual work in people’s farms. His siblings are young and his mother has no income-generating activity to support the family. He was forced to drop out of high school due to lack of funds to support his education. On arrival at the hospital, Asbel was checked by the doctors who also did an x-ray. This confirmed that he had sustained a metatarsal fracture with a dislocation on his right lower limb. Due to his condition, Asbel was taken to the operating theater for an urgent washout procedure to clean out his wound and then admitted to the hospital for pain management. He was also told that he would need surgery to fix the fractured bones. The condition has caused Asbel pain, swelling, and an open wound after a prick by a sharp object on his right foot while working on the farm. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On November 24th, Asbel will undergo a fracture repair procedure, called an open reduction and external fixation. He will be able to go back to farming and continue supporting his family. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $853 to fund this procedure. Asbel says, “My hope is to get treated so that I can resume all my daily duties and provide for my family and my siblings.”