Rosario is a cleaning lady from the Philippines. She has three children who have their own families. Her partner works as a part-time employee in a government agency and their combined income is barely enough for their family's needs. During her days off, she would spend her time singing karaoke with her children. Three years ago, she felt something in her throat. She had difficulty breathing and was easily tired. She was diagnosed with Multiple Colloid Adenomatous Goiter and needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines (WSFP), is helping Rosario receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on February 24th at Our Lady of Peace Hospital. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation is supporting a portion of the cost of her treatment and WSFP is raising the remaining $935 to cover the cost of Rosario's procedure and care. Rosario says, "I am extremely grateful for those who will help me get my surgery done. I am speechless. I went here with high hopes and God did not fail me. Thank you very much."

Chisuka is a widow who lost her husband in February 2023. Chisuka has never had a child of her own but has been keeping three orphans aged 15, 10, and 6 years old for her late sister who passed on 5 years ago. Her husband had lost his first wife 30 years ago who left a 6-year-old son who has been brought up by Chisuka until now. He is a soldier who is married with one child. Chisuka and her late husband loved these orphans and brought them up like their own before death separated them. Chisuka shared that a month after losing her husband, she was chased out of her main house and most of her belongings were taken by her in-laws. Chisuka is now in the boys’ quarter together with her children while the main house is rented but the money is not shared with her. Her stepson withdrew his support after the death of his father. Chisuka started selling groundnut flour for a living. She likes praying and encouraging her children to work hard at school since life has changed for the worse. Chisuka was well until three years ago when she started experiencing cramping abdominal pains and felt a hard mass on the left side of her abdomen. Chisuka has been to different hospitals without much improvement. Of late Chisuka has had overwhelming abdominal pains, bleeding tendencies, loss of appetite leading to loss of weight, a lot of discomforts leading to more stress, weakness, and general body pain. On 24th January, Chisuka was booked and seen by the gynecologist at our medical partner's care center PIH who confirmed the diagnosis of multiple uterine fibroids through an ultrasound scan. She was notified about the need for a surgical intervention called total abdominal hysterectomy (TAH) which is the removal of the uterus, including the cervix. Chisuka was then referred to the Watsi program due to her financial status. She is contributing what she can and needs help raising $1,363 to fund her surgery. Fibroids are abnormal growths that develop in a woman's uterus. Fibroids might become quite large leading to severe abdominal pain and heavy bleeding. If left untreated, fibroids continue to grow, both in size and number worsening the symptoms; the heavy bleeding may become worse causing anemia which may be fatal. After the surgery, it is expected that Chisuka will stop having unbearable abdominal pains and heavy bleeding and will continue taking care of her late sister’s children and living a more comfortable life. Chisuka, with tears in her eyes, said, “Please help me, I have faced more than I could, and now I need a breather and a comfortable life to let me render support to my children.”

Thaw is a two-year-old boy from Burma. He lives with his parents and elder sister in Zee Kone Village, but his family migrated to Thailand four months ago to seek better job opportunities. His father works as an agricultural day labourer, while his mother is a homemaker. Thaw’s elder brother and sister take turns working as agricultural day labourers. Thaw’s mother carefully manages their income, and their combined family income is enough to cover their daily basic expenses. Thaw receives free healthcare services at Mae Tao Clinic (MTC). On 2 July 2021, Thaw was born through emergency caesarean section. His mother noticed on the following day, while cleaning Thaw’s body, that he was born with a worrying condition that makes it challenging to go to the bathroom. Thaw’s mother immediately informed the doctor, who then referred Thaw to hospital in Ayeyarwady Division. Unfortunately, due to a lack of facilities, he did not receive the necessary treatment at this hospital. He was subsequently recommended to go to Yangon Hospital. However, due to financial limitations, Thaw’s mother could not afford to take him to Yangon Hospital, leading her to cease efforts to seek Thaw’s treatment. Fortunately, Thaw was able to defecate through a fistula however Thaw began to experience troubling symptoms, including at present, Thaw is passing stool through the fistula, experiencing constipation with bowel movements occurring every four or five days, with a distended abdomen. Thaw has been diagnosed with imperforate anus with fistula and his doctors recommend a colostomy. A colostomy is a surgery that creates an opening for the colon through the abdomen. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1500 to fund Thaw's surgery at Mae Sot General Hospital scheduled January 31st. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully alleviate him symptoms. Thaw’s mother expressed her concerns saying, “I want my son to have a healthy, long life. I was always worried about him, and he couldn’t receive treatment due to lack of money. Now, with the help of BCMF and donors, he can undergo surgery. Thank you."