Koem Chun is a 78-year-old rice farmer. Koem Chun is married and has five sons, three daughters, and 20 grandchildren. He lives with his wife and their youngest daughter, who makes a living selling materials in the local market. Five years ago, Koem Chun developed a cataract in his left eye, causing him tearing, blurry vision, and sensitivity to light. He cannot see well in low light and colors all look faded to him. When Koem Chun learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for four and a half hours seeking treatment. On December 9th, doctors will perform small incision cataract surgery and an intraocular lens implant in his left eye. After recovery, he will be able to see clearly. Now, he needs help to fund this $229 procedure. Koem Chun shared, "I hope I will see better and go outside again. I need to grow rice to feed my family."

Lydia is a small-scale farmer and a mother of seven. Her husband is also a small-scale farmer and their eldest child is now 50 years old. They own a four-room mud house and work hard to try to make ends meet for their family. Over 20 years ago, Lydia began to experience troubling symptoms, including neck pains and a small swelling which she initially thought would disappear on its own but it did not. Currently, she suffers from airway obstruction and can no longer climb hills comfortably. She very much likes playing and dancing (traditional dances) with her grandchildren but no longer does so comfortably in her current condition. She was scheduled for a surgery appointment at Kabale Referral Hospital about four months ago, but had to cancel because she was unable to raise the funds for surgery. She has now come to Rushoroza Hospital to seek treatment for her multi-nodular goiter, which is an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Lydia receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on December 14th. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $333, and Lydia and her family need help raising money. Lydia says, “I hope to finally get relieved of the goitre through surgery because I have lived in this undesirable condition for quite long. I hope to continue with farming comfortably after my treatment.”

Jane is farmer and a mother of two children. Jane has a small grocery store where she sells vegetables to earn a living. Her husband works in construction sites to help provide for their family. For her husband, work is hard to come by and if he gets a job, he does not earn much. To facilitate for the many hospital visits and scans that she has needed recently, Jane and her husband had to sell the two cows and chickens they had kept. Jane first noticed her belly was increasing in size about six moths ago. She hasn't been able to eat and has been diagnosed with an ovarian cyst. She needs to undergo a hysterectomy, a procedure in which surgeons will remove her uterus. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,260 to fund Jane's surgery. On January 14th, she'll undergo gynecological surgery at our medical partner's care center. Once recovered, Jane will be able to resume her daily activities free of pain. Jane says, "i’m very happy that I will be treated but I’m feeling sad that I do not have the funds for the surgery.”