Min is a 43-year-old construction worker and father of ten from Cambodia. Min and his wife live in Koh Kong province near the Thai border with four of their ten children. The other children have moved out in search of jobs in nearby towns. While Min works in construction, his wife is busy taking care of their children. In his free time, Min enjoys watching Thai and Cambodian boxing and playing soccer in the village. On April 12th, Min was in a motorbike accident, causing an open fracture on his right forearm. He received treatment for the fracture at a provincial hospital, where the wound was dressed and closed. Unfortunately, the wound became infected. Now he experiences pain, swelling, and limited function in his arm. When Min learned about our medical partner Children's Surgical Centre (CSC), he traveled for three hours seeking treatment. On April 19th, surgeons at CSC will perform a debridement procedure to remove damaged and infected tissue from the wound. Now, Min needs help to fund this $324 procedure. Min shared, "I hope this will heal so I can return to work and support my family."

Nak is the matriarch of a close-knit family consisting of six members. Widowed after the death of her husband, she lives with her oldest daughter, who works in a clothing factory, her son-in-law, and their children. She has a grandson in grade eight, a granddaughter in grade four, and a lively four-year-old who stays home with Nak. Since retiring from farming, Nak has taken responsibility for cooking and cleaning. Nak's health poses significant challenges. Diagnosed with diabetes six years ago, she battles the effects of a persistent wound on her left toe. There was an unfortunate incident with a penetrating injury from a thorn, which went untreated for a long time. She was referred to our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, for diagnosis and treatment. Doctors have diagnosed her with dry gangrene. The blood supply to her toe has been cut off due to her diabetes, and the toe has become dry and turned black. Nak is in pain and feels poorly. Although her diabetes is under control, she is weak and must use a wheelchair. Surgery is necessary to prevent the gangrene from spreading and to allow the surrounding healthy tissue to heal. To address the issue and avoid further pain, an amputation of her toe is proposed. Doctors plan to take her to surgery on January 2nd. Now her family needs help with the cost of her surgery and her care. Our medical partner is requesting $479. This will cover the procedure, post-operative hospitalization, medications, and physical therapy. Nak's daughter said: "After surgery, we hope she can walk easier with no pain, and no infection."

Allen is a small-scale farmer from Uganda. She completed primary school but was not able to continue because her parents were unable to support her education. She is separated from her husband and raising two children. Her firstborn is 14 years old and no longer in school, and her secondborn is 13 years old and is in primary school. She lives with her parents in a three-room mud house. Ten years ago, Allen began to experience troubling symptoms, including a small painless swelling on her neck which was rapidly increasing in size. She resorted to using herbs, but they did not help her at all. Currently, the mass has enlarged excessively and has caused difficulty in swallowing. She also experiences mild airway obstruction and on-and-off episodes of severe headaches. She was diagnosed with a goiter and needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Allen receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo thyroid surgery on February 3rd at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $333, and she and her family need help raising money. Allen says, ‘‘I pray to have a successful surgery. I hope to continue with farming after complete recovery to be able to support our family. May God bless you.’’