Tumusiime shared, “I'm praying for my surgery to go well. I hope the lengthy struggles shall come to a stop and I will regain my ability to work on the farm once again.” Tumusiime is a 54-year-old woman and a married mother of seven children. Her oldest child is 27 and recently started a diploma course in accounting, while her youngest is 12 years old and in primary school. All of her other children are still in primary and secondary schools at different levels. Tumusiime shared that they are struggling to raise the school fees for their children. She and her husband are small scale farmers, and they own a four-room semi-permanent house for their family's shelter. 12 years ago, Tumusiime began experiencing troubling symptoms, including anterior neck swelling and airway obstruction. She is not able to carry heavy loads on her head and strains to turn her neck. She was diagnosed with nontoxic nodular goiter and she needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is requesting $293 to fund Tumusiime's treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on April 6th at AMH's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland so that she can heal and continue with her day-to-day life with greater ease.

Varn is a 60-year-old farmer with one son, five daughters, and many grandchildren. Varn lives with her husband who is also a rice farmer. She enjoys staying home to look after her grandchildren, watching Khmer movies on TV, and listening to the monks pray on the radio. Five years ago, Varn developed a pterygium in her right eye, causing her tearing, irritation, burning, and discomfort with her appearance. Pterygiums are non-cancerous growths of the conjunctiva, a mucous layer that lubricates the eye. The growths occur when the conjunctiva is exposed to excessive sun damage and the cells grow abnormally over the pupil. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, working, and going anywhere outside. When Varn learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for three hours with her daughter seeking treatment. Varn needs a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the cornea surface and replace it with a conjunctival graft to prevent recurrence. The total cost of her procedure is $216. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care for two days. The procedure is scheduled for March 15th. Varn said, "I hope after surgery my eye feels better so I can return to planting rice. I'm also looking forward to being able to help take care of my grandchildren."

Son is a 51-year-old rice and vegetable farmer with two sons and four daughters. Son lives with her husband who is also a farmer and their youngest daughter who is still a student. In her free time, Son enjoys playing with her grandchildren, teaching her daughter to cook, and tailoring clothes for her family. Seven years ago, Son had a severe ear infection that caused a perforated eardrum in her left ear. As a result, Son experiences chronic pain, ear discharge, hearing loss, and ringing in her ears and she cannot communicate clearly with others. Son traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On March 16th, she'll undergo a myringoplasty procedure in her left ear. During this procedure, surgeons will close the perforation. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $464 to fund this procedure. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care. Son shared, "I hope my hearing will improve and I can be free of pain."