Naw Gay is a 24-year-old woman who lives with her husband and two sons in a refugee camp in Mae Hong Son Province, Thailand. Originally from Bago Division across the border in Burma, she fled to the refugee camp with her family last May due to armed conflict in their area. Currently, Naw Gay is a homemaker while her husband is unemployed. Her children are too young to attend school. They receive free basic health care in the refugee camp, provided by Malteser International (MI) Thailand, and some financial support from nonprofit The Border Consortium and their uncle living in the United States. During her free time, she loves to play with her children and clean her house. Naw Gay is currently expecting her third child. Her doctors recommend that she deliver via a Caesarean section. Both of Naw Gay's sons were born through C-section due to eclampsia. She has received regular antenatal care at the hospital in the refugee camp and she was told that she will have to give birth through C-section in order to ensure the safety of both mother and child. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is helping Naw Gay undergo a C-section on February 1st. Naw Gay's family needs your support to cover $1500 of her treatment. Naw Gay shared, “My husband would like to have a girl this time because we already have two sons. As for me, I don’t mind if it’s a boy or a girl because I will love my baby either way.”

Hassan is an only child whose parents separated before he was born. Prior to his birth, Hassan's mother worked alongside his grandmother, doing farm work to earn income. After Hassan was born, his mother had to stop working so she could take care of him. Hassan was diagnosed with spina bifida at birth, a condition that occurs when a developing baby's spinal cord fails to develop or close properly while in the womb. Hassan had a swelling on his back that was open and leaking. He was admitted in hospital for a few days while his mother was taught how to dress the wound. An MRI and a CT scan were done and he was scheduled for surgery weeks later. While home, his mother continued with the wound dressings as instructed until the leaking stopped. During one of the post-natal clinics, Hassan and his mother were referred to our medical partner's care center, BethanyKids, for treatment. Upon arrival at BethanyKids, Hassan was examined and was additionally diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a build up of fluids in the brain. He was then scheduled for a spina bifida repair surgery, and the mother was told that once he recovered, he would be scheduled for a shunt insertion surgery. Due to financial challenges and a loss of income for Hassan's mother, the family is unable to meet the medical expenses. Without treatment, Hassan is at risk of lower-limb paralysis, infection of the exposed nervous tissue, development of tethered cord syndrome, and possible developmental delays. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Hassan receive treatment. On March 15th, surgeons at BethanyKids will conduct a spina bifida closure surgery to promote Hassan's healthy growth and development. Now, Hassan's family needs help to fund this $1,151 procedure. Hassan’s mother says, “A while back, I had already given up on Hassan's treatment. Because the community had never seen such a condition, I was told that I would always get children who have different medical conditions. After coming to this facility, I realized that this was not the case. My hopes were raised again and now I’m looking forward to the best outcome in Hassan’s treatment.”

Dorothy is a 68-year-old woman from a village in the Lilongwe District of Malawi with three married children. She depends on small-scale farming as she grows maize and groundnuts for consumption and commercial purposes to support herself. Dorothy started experiencing itching followed by a lump in her left breast which kept growing in size and became painful. She visited different health centers where she was unable to receive a diagnosis or treatment until she was seen by a surgeon from Nkhoma Hospital who conducted a free clinic at her nearby health center. Dorothy was diagnosed with breast cancer and she needs to undergo mastectomy surgery. She is willing to undergo the procedure but is unable to afford the surgery. This condition has had a negative impact on Dorothy’s life as she feels pain in her breast and is worried that the cancer could spread. Treatment will relieve Dorothy of the pain and she will no longer be stressed. Dorothy is requesting $567 to fund treatment from our partner, African Mission Healthcare. Dorothy says, “I am looking forward to treatment and full recovery.”