Heng is a 70-year-old grandmother from Cambodia with nine children and fifteen grandchildren. Heng's husband recently died, and she moved in with her youngest son. Together they care for an orphaned child from the village. Her son works in construction, while Heng's other children send small amounts of their income to Heng to help support her living expenses. In her free time, she likes to cook and go to the village pagoda to pray. Around three months ago, Heng developed a cataract in her left eye - a clouding of the lens of the eye that causes cloudy vision, as if looking through a frosty or fogged-up window. Heng now has blurry vision, headaches, and watery eyes. She has difficulty seeing things, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking, so is not able to go places on her own. She is not able to safely go up and down the steps of her traditional village home. When Heng learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for one and a half hours seeking treatment. On March 11th, doctors will perform a small incision cataract surgery and implant an intraocular lens in her left eye. After recovery, hopefully, she will be able to see clearly. Now, Heng needs help to fund this $253 procedure. She shared: "I hope I can improve my vision so I can go places without feeling afraid and recognize faces in the village."

Nom is a 64-year-old widow. She is a retired rice farmer from Kampong Thom province, living with a daughter since her husband passed away ten years ago. She has two daughters from her long marriage to her husband - one is a rice farmer, one works in construction, and they have given her five beautiful grandchildren. At home most of the day, she likes to listen to the monks chant on the radio, or visit the local Buddhist centre. Five years ago, Nom developed a cataract in her left eye, causing her blurry vision and difficulty keeping her balance. A cataract is a clouding of the lens of the eye, so it is like looking through a frosty or fogged-up window. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking, so is not able to go places on her own. When Nom learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for two and a half hours seeking treatment. On January 3rd, doctors will perform small incision cataract surgery and an intraocular lens implant in her left eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Now, she needs help to fund this $253 procedure. She shared: "I hope after surgery I can see better. I want to help my daughter take care of my grandchildren and do housework to help her."

Kyaw is a 5-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his parents, grandmother, and older sister. Kyaw’s father supports the family as a Wi-Fi technician, while his mother and grandmother take care of the household. Recently, Kyaw started nursery school. During his free time, he likes to play football with his friends and ride his bicycle. In June 2023, while playing outside with his friends, Kyaw was accidentally hit by a friend and injured his left eye. Since then, Kyaw began to experience blurring and watering in his left eye, sensitivity to light, accompanied by pain, itching, and redness around the eye. These symptoms have made it increasingly difficult for him to see clearly. Kyaw 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, he could lose his vision completely. Kyaw is scheduled to undergo surgery to reattach his retina on March 11th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of his procedure and care. After his surgery, Kyaw's vision will hopefully be restored and he can resume his daily activities comfortably. Kyaw’s mother said, “I am very thankful to BCMF and their donors. It was very difficult to find an organization that would help with the cost of treatment. It is good to know I can depend on others for support like this, without you, it would be very difficult for me to help my son.”