Linn is a 50-year-old woman from Burma. She is divorced and lives with her mother and son in Karen State - a conflict area near the border of Burma and Thailand. She works as a shop vendor, selling steamed sticky rice with chicken and pork, and her mother is retired. Her 12-year-old son is in the fifth grade in Burma. Linn also cultivates vegetables in her garden and usually cooks meals using them. Linn enjoys watching movies in her free time, but she has not been able to do so for a while now. One year ago, Linn began to experience blurred and double vision. Currently, Linn cannot read, see, or walk well and requires a caregiver to assist her with daily activities. These symptoms have made it increasingly difficult for her to see clearly. Linn was diagnosed with retinal detachment, a condition in which the retina pulls away from the supportive tissue in the eye, resulting in vision loss. If left untreated, she could lose vision completely. Linn is scheduled to undergo surgery to reattach her retina. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund (BCMF), requests $1,500 to cover her procedure and care costs. After her surgery, Linn's vision will hopefully be restored, and she will resume her daily activities comfortably. Linn expressed, "I am very pleased to receive help and I am relieved that I can also stay at BCMF's patients' house in Chiang Mai. I wish for the success of my eye surgery. After recovery, I hope to restart my previous business again."

Lezina is a 51-year-old woman with 3 children. She separated from her husband who later remarried and shared that she believes he left because of her medical condition. All her children are women and they got married at a tender age due to financial challenges in their family. Currently, Lezina has found it difficult to secure even a low-paying job as a maid. Lezina likes chatting with her grandchildren and enjoys eating anything that is available. Lezina indicated that she started experiencing a swelling above the umbilical area in 2020. She lived with the problem since it was on and off and was not associated with pain. Later in 2023, the swelling episodes became frequent and it began to affect her daily activities. Lezina presented herself to Kamuzu Central Hospital where different tests were done, without much help. As time passed by, in December 2023 she had increasing pains and went back to KCH where further assessments were done, and a diagnosis of hernia was made after identifying the source of pain. KCH booked Lezina on their waiting list. While still waiting, her first-born daughter met a friend who shared the good news that she was a beneficiary of Watsi's program with our partner African Mission Healthcare and recommended aher to report to PIH Hospital for support. Lezina met the surgeon at PIH who confirmed the diagnosis of hernia and the need for surgical intervention called hernia repair. A hernia is a condition in which soft tissue bulges through a weak point in the abdominal muscle. If the hernia is left untreated, the size of the protruding intestine might get bigger and become strangulated leading to the reduction of blood flow to the surrounding tissues which may be life-threatening. Lezina was referred to our program due to her financial instability. Her daughter committed to helping support her treatment and Lezina believes that the surgery will help her get back to normal life and that people will now have a different perception of her. Lezina needs your help raising $575 to fund her surgery. Lezina happily said, “I just want to get well and concentrate on my children.”

Monicah is a 36 year old from Kenya. She works as a cleaner and her income is inconsistent. She is a single mother of four children. Her older child is in primary two while the youngest is in nursery school. She is the breadwinner and their family lives in a single-room rental house costing about $7. Monica was well until December 2022. She reports that her hearing kept decreasing and one day it just went down. She has been diagnosed with severe hearing loss in both ears. She cannot hear unless someone shouts. She is accompanied by her elderly mother who is helping her. She can hear well if she gets a hearing aid device and needs two devices for both ears. She has been living with the condition for a year now and has not been able to get medical attention due to a lack of finances. Our medical partner African Mission Healthcare is requesting funds of $1,171 to cover hearing aid fitting and devices for Monicah. Monicah says, “I used to hear well, and I am looking forward to hearing again.”