Thorn is a 46-year-old mother who lives with her husband and her three children. Her oldest daughter is 22 and studies at a university, her second daughter is 18 and is in secondary school, and her youngest daughter is three and does not yet attend school. She and her husband are both rice farmers in Takeo province. Her free time is taken up by cooking for her family and cleaning the house. A month ago, on the way back from the market, she was in a motorbike collision and fractured her right tibial plateau. This is an injury in which she broke her bone and injured the cartilage that covers the top end of the bottom part of her knee. She went to a local hospital where they took and X-ray but did not treat her because she had no money to pay. She is in constant pain and cannot walk. She cannot care for her children, and cannot help her husband in the rice field Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, can help. On December 14th, Thorn will undergo a fracture repair procedure, which will cost $483. This procedure will help her walk again without pain. Thorn said: "I hope after the operation I can ride my motorbike again, have no more pain, and can take care of my family."

Veasna is a student in the fifth grade and has many friends, even though he describes himself as shy. In addition to his friends, Veasna loves spending time with his mom and older brother. Sadly, his dad passed away in a motorbike accident before Veasna was born. Veasna has strabismus in both eyes. Strabismus is a misalignment of the eye caused by injury or dysfunction in the associated nerves and muscles. He is having trouble reading, which is his favorite subject at school. Left untreated, he could face permanent vision problems, including double vision and issues with depth perception. Veasna's family traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On March 2nd, surgeons at our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), will perform a corrective procedure to align his eyes. Now, Veasna's family needs help to raise $331 to fund this procedure. His mom said, "I hope Veasna can have surgery and not be shy about his eyes."

Juliet is a 62-year-old farmer from Uganda. She is a mother of 7 children. Five of the children have completed schooling, while two are currently in school. Juliet and her husband practice small-scale farming. Ten years ago, Juliet began to experience troubling symptoms, including swelling, fatigue, and swallowing difficulties. She was diagnosed with multinodular goiter. She went to Nyakibale for care and was recommended surgery as treatment. Without treatment, she is at risk of further complications from the goiter, which might worsen due to existing hypertension. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Juliet receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on February 7th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $252, and she and her family need help to raise the funds. Juliet says “I am the lady who tries my best to have good health but this time I am poor enough to afford anything in regard to surgery. I pray that you consider me to have my health restored and I live well through farming.”