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."

Oo is a 46-year-old widow from Thailand. She works on a farm and diligently sends money to support her son, who is studying as a monk in a Dhama School in Burma. She enjoys reading during her free time. For several months, Oo has been experiencing intense pain in her back and right lower abdomen, accompanied by other worrying symptoms. She has been diagnosed with leiomyoma, a smooth muscle tumor of the uterus. Oo has been advised to undergo a hysterectomy where the surgeon will remove her uterus and cervix. If left untreated, Oo's symptoms will continue to worsen and put her at risk for further health complications in the future. Fortunately, Oo is scheduled to undergo her hysterectomy on February 27th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to cover the cost of her procedure and care. Once recovered, she will no longer experience pain. Oo shared, "I'm feeling stressed and anxious about my upcoming treatment. Thankfully, I have a supportive friend who stays by my side and provides me with much-needed assistance. I am also truly grateful to BCMF and donors for covering my surgery cost."

Wishes is a 5-year-old who hails from a village in Lilongwe District. She is the last born in a family of 3 children and is a bright young student in primary school. Wishes’ parents depend on small-scale farming where they grow maize and groundnuts for their family to eat and for commercial purposes to support the family. Since she was born, Wishes has been experiencing a painful abdomen, vomiting, frequent diarrhea, and feeling weak. Her mother has been taking her to Nkhoma Hospital where she was advised to come back to meet a surgeon for assessment. Wishes was diagnosed with a periumbilical hernia, and she was scheduled to undergo hernia repair surgery at Nkhoma Hospital. However, her parents cannot afford the surgery although they hope to have their daughter undergo surgery. This condition has had a negative impact on Wishes’s life as she feels abdominal pain and cannot go to school when this happens, therefore, affecting her school performance. If the condition is left untreated, it may lead to strangulation which can be life-threatening. Wishes is scheduled for hernia repair surgery on February 13th. Our medical partner African Mission Healthcare is requesting $421 to fund surgery. After surgery, Wishes will be relived of pain and she will be able to attend school without any hindrances from the condition. Wishes’ mother says, “Thank you for this opportunity that has brought new hope to my daughter.”