Oscar is a 28-year-old married man from a village in Lilongwe District in Malawi. He has a young child who is not yet of school age, and relies on small-scale farming to support the family by growing maize, groundnuts, and keeping livestock. One year ago, Oscar noticed an itch in his throat and a slight hoarseness in his voice, initially thinking he was developing a cough. However, he later discovered a small painful swelling that has been gradually getting larger. He did not seek medical help as he had no funds to pay for treatment until his mother heard about a care program when she visited our medical partner care center, Nkhoma Hospital. Oscar was diagnosed with goiter, and was scheduled to undergo thyroidectomy surgery. The condition has negatively affected his life as the swelling is painful and sometimes, he experiences shortness of breath. Treatment will relieve him of these symptoms, improving the quality of his life. Fortunately, our medical partner African Mission Healthcare is helping Oscar receive treatment at their care center. On March 7th surgeons will perform thyroid surgery so he can regain his health. Now, he needs help to fund this $491 procedure. Oscar says, “Thank you for this opportunity, I am looking forward to treatment and recovery.”

Nyi is a 22-year-old man from Thailand. He lives in the monastery with two other monks. He helps the monk with cooking, cleaning, and looking after the monks. He receives free food and free accommodation. He has no income but has enough food. Originally from Burma, his aim of coming to Thailand was to look for better job opportunities and also to seek treatment but because of his condition, he does not have job and ended up living in the monastery. In December 2022, Nyi started experiencing some headaches and blurred vision. He went to the local eye clinic and his eyes were tested and he received a pair of eyeglasses. However, the eyeglasses did not help him see better so the doctor suggested him to have further investigation and possibly a computerized scan (CT). Nyi had no money so he did not pursue further investigation of his symptoms. He was looking for a way to get treatment and finally arrived in Thailand and visited Mae Tao Clinic (MTC) in November 2023. After meeting with the doctor at MTC, the doctor told him to go to Mae Sot Hospital (MSH) for further investigation and explained to him that his eyes looked normal but there might be a tumor that is causing his blurred vision, the doctor then recommended he undergo a CT scan to confirm his diagnosis and make the best plan for his care. Doctors want Nyi to undergo a CT scan, a procedure in which x-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose his condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Nyi's CT scan and care, scheduled for January 30th. Nyi said, "I want to recover and get a job so that I can earn money for my living."

Sophors is a 19-year-old truck driver from Cambodia. He is the eldest of three children. Sophors father works as a rice farmer, while his mother is a factory worker. In his free time, Sophors enjoys learning to cook different recipes. Last year Sophors was in a traffic accident that caused an open fracture of his upper right arm. He was sent to a local hospital where he received treatment with an external fixator that was used to keep his fractured bones stabilized and in alignment. Now, the hardware is exposed and infected. It is difficult for him to use his hand and he is in chronic pain. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner Children's Surgical Centre (CSC) can help. On April 19th, Sophors will undergo a hardware removal procedure to help clear up the infection and enable him to move his hand easily again. Sophors is able to contribute $50 towards the cost of his treatment and needs help raising $254 more to fund the operation and his post-op care. Sophors said, "I hope I have no more pain and can move my hand more easily."