Vannareach is a 12-year-old 7th grader from Cambodia. He lives just outside of the capital city of Phnom Penh with his mom and two sisters. Vannareach is the youngest and hopes to become a math teacher when he is older. After school, he enjoys playing soccer with his friends and getting fried noodles from a street cart. Since around four years ago, Vannareach has been experiencing a sore throat, difficulty swallowing, and wakes up throughout the night. Frequent illness causes him to miss a lot of school and he is underweight due to difficulty with eating. Vannareach was recently diagnosed with enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which, if not treated, will cause his symptoms to persist and possibly intensify over time. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $265 to fund a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for Vannareach, which is scheduled to take place on January 10th. Surgeons will remove his tonsils and adenoids, hopefully relieving Vannareach of his symptoms and helping him live much more comfortably. Vannareach's mom shared, "I hope my son can feel better, be able to sleep more, and not miss so much school."

Dorothy is a 68-year-old woman from a village in the Lilongwe District of Malawi with three married children. She depends on small-scale farming as she grows maize and groundnuts for consumption and commercial purposes to support herself. Dorothy started experiencing itching followed by a lump in her left breast which kept growing in size and became painful. She visited different health centers where she was unable to receive a diagnosis or treatment until she was seen by a surgeon from Nkhoma Hospital who conducted a free clinic at her nearby health center. Dorothy was diagnosed with breast cancer and she needs to undergo mastectomy surgery. She is willing to undergo the procedure but is unable to afford the surgery. This condition has had a negative impact on Dorothy’s life as she feels pain in her breast and is worried that the cancer could spread. Treatment will relieve Dorothy of the pain and she will no longer be stressed. Dorothy is requesting $567 to fund treatment from our partner, African Mission Healthcare. Dorothy says, “I am looking forward to treatment and full recovery.”

Phy is an 83-year-old retired soldier from Siem Reap province in Cambodia. He has one daughter, two sons, and five grandchildren. Phy helps care for his wife, who has been experiencing multiple health problems for the last several years. They moved in with their oldest daughter and their son-in-law, who works as a motorbike taxi driver to help support the family. In his free time, Phy likes going to the pagoda and visiting his grandchildren. Around two months ago, Phy had cataract surgery at a provincial hospital and experienced post-operative complications. The retina of Phy's left eye detached, causing him partial blindness and watery eyes. He has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, and going anywhere outside. When Phy learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for six hours seeking treatment. On April 3rd, eye surgeons will perform a retinal detachment repair procedure in his left eye. After recovery, he will be able to see clearly. Phy and his family are able to contribute $300 but need help to raise an additional $649 to fund the procedure. Phy shared, "I hope I can see clearly so I can feel better going places on my own and I would like to be able to watch the news."