Thida is a 43-year-old tailor who resides in Tbong Kmoum province, approximately four hours away from the capital city of Phnom Penh, along with her husband and two daughters. Her husband works as a tailor, while her daughters pursue their education. To support their diet, she cultivates vegetables on their modest plot of land, providing nourishing food for her family. Twenty-eight years ago, Thida had an ear infection. This infection caused the ear drum in her right ear to perforate. For this reason, Thida still experiences frequent fevers, infections, ear discharge and hearing loss. Despite having undergone surgery in the past, she has had a persistent return of symptoms. These health issues affect her ability to work regularly, or communicate effectively with others, causing embarrassment when she struggles to comprehend her family or colleagues. Thida traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On January 2nd, she will undergo a myringoplasty procedure in her right ear. During this procedure, surgeons will close the perforation in her ear drum. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $487 to fund this procedure. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care. Thida said: "I hope after surgery, I will stop having the ear infections and can have easy communication with others."

Kyar is an elderly woman from Thailand. She lives with her two granddaughters, two grandsons and a great-grandchild. She is retired and helps with cleaning their home. One of her granddaughters goes to school and the other granddaughter and her grandsons work as community health workers. On November 20th, Kyar slipped on the wet bathroom floor, and fractured her left hip. Currently, she experiences pain in her left hip and she cannot walk. She needs someone to assist her when she needs to go to the bathroom or shower. With the help of our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, Kyar will undergo surgery to reset her fractured bones and ensure proper healing. The procedure is scheduled for December 1st and will cost $1,500. This procedure will help her walk again and live pain-free. Kyar said, "I feel sad that I have to go through this and my grandchildren need to take time off from work to accompany and assist me. I am very thankful to all the donors for their support of my treatment."

Hassan is an only child whose parents separated before he was born. Prior to his birth, Hassan's mother worked alongside his grandmother, doing farm work to earn income. After Hassan was born, his mother had to stop working so she could take care of him. Hassan was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth, a condition that occurs when a developing baby's spinal cord fails to develop or close properly while in the womb. Hassan had a swelling on his back that was open and leaking. He was admitted in hospital for a few days while his mother was taught how to dress the wound. An MRI and a CT scan were done and he was scheduled for surgery weeks later. While home, his mother continued with the wound dressings as instructed until the leaking stopped. During one of the post-natal clinics, Hassan and his mother were referred to our medical partner's care center, BethanyKids, for treatment. Upon arrival at BethanyKids, Hassan was examined and was additionally diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a build up of fluids in the brain. He was then scheduled for a spina bifida repair surgery, and the mother was told that once he recovered, he would be scheduled for a shunt insertion surgery. Due to financial challenges and a loss of income for Hassan's mother, the family is unable to meet the medical expenses. Without treatment, Hassan is at risk of lower-limb paralysis, infection of the exposed nervous tissue, development of tethered cord syndrome, and possible developmental delays. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Hassan receive treatment. On March 15th, surgeons at BethanyKids will conduct a spina bifida closure surgery to promote Hassan's healthy growth and development. Now, Hassan's family needs help to fund this $1,151 procedure. Hassan’s mother says, “A while back, I had already given up on Hassan's treatment. Because the community had never seen such a condition, I was told that I would always get children who have different medical conditions. After coming to this facility, I realized that this was not the case. My hopes were raised again and now I’m looking forward to the best outcome in Hassan’s treatment.”