Dorica is a 30-year-old woman from Malawi, married with one daughter aged nine. Her husband works as a bicycle technician, repairing bicycles and motorcycles. Dorica used to engage in casual farm work, but is currently unable to due to her illness. Six years ago, Dorica began to experience troubling symptoms, which started with a small painless neck swelling. Over time, the swelling grew larger and Dorica also started experiencing breathlessness. She went to a local hospital to seek medical care and was diagnosed with a multi-nodular goiter. Presently, she experiences a heaviness on her neck, is unable to carry anything on her head and is unable to carry out her household chores. The doctors referred her to our medical partner's care facility, Partners in Hope Medical Centre (PiH) where surgery was recommended, but Dorica is unable to raise funds for the treatment. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Dorica receive treatment. On April 17th, surgeons at PiH will perform a thyroidectomy to remove all or part of her thyroid gland, treat her condition and to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Now, Dorica needs help to fund this $1,015 procedure. Dorica says, “Kindly help me to resume my daily activities, and responsibly care for my family.”

Ra is an only child and lives with his parents who work as rice farmers near their home. In school, Ra enjoys mathematics class, and at home, he enjoys playing with his friends in the village and riding bikes. One year ago, Ra fell while playing with his friends. He experienced a significant injury on his left wrist and elbow. Ra's mother observed that he could not flex his elbow properly or extend his wrist and fingers like he could before the accident. Ra was referred by a public hospital in Phnom Penh to our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre (CSC). He and his mom traveled for two and a half hours seeking treatment. On March 11th, surgeons will perform a nerve and tendon procedure to improve the function of his wrist and elbow. Our medical partner, Children’s Surgical Centre, is seeking assistance to fund the $487 surgery and physiotherapy that Ra needs. Ra's mother shared, "I hope he can recover from this injury and go back to school quickly."

Aye is a 25-year-old woman from Thailand. She lives with her parents, grandfather, aunt, brother, sister and daughter. She and her sister are homemakers, while her father is a day labourer. Her brother works in a garment factory, and her mother and aunt are unemployed. Since Aye was 12 years old, she has experienced difficulty passing urine on and off. In October, this worsened and she now has blood in her urine and severe pain in her lower back. Doctors want Aye to undergo a CT scan, a procedure in which x-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose her condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Aye's CT scan and care, scheduled for December 20th. Aye said, "I have been experiencing these symptoms for so many years but because of financial problems, I have never receive proper treatment."