Marivic is a 53-year-old mother of two from the Philippines who loves taking long walks and doing household tasks. As a housewife, she dedicates her time to taking care of her family. Their eldest son is the breadwinner of the family, while her husband works as a tricycle driver. Marivic has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She can no longer do strenuous work or heavy lifting due to the size of her breast mass. It often causes her discomfort while moving or doing chores. Her doctor advised her to limit activities that could worsen her condition. Despite these challenges, Marivic remains hopeful that help will come. Without treatment, the cancer may spread to other organs. A mastectomy, a surgery to remove breast tissue, has been suggested to rid her body of breast cancer and to prevent the cancer from metastasizing. Fortunately, our medical partner World Surgical Foundation Philippines (WSFP) is helping Marivic receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a mastectomy on August 29th at Our Lady of Peace Hospital. A portion of the cost of her treatment is being supported by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and WSFP needs your help in raising $990 to cover the remaining cost. After treatment, Marivic will hopefully return to a cancer-free life. Marivic shared, "I am deeply grateful for the foundation’s help. Without this free surgery, I do not know when I would have received the treatment I need. This assistance has given me hope and eased the financial burden on my family."

Mengleang is a four-year-old kindergarten student from Cambodia. She lives in Kandal Province with her parents. Her father is a farmer, and her mother works in a garment factory. She is the youngest of three children - her older brother works in a beverage factory, and her sister is in Grade 11. She enjoys learning Khmer reading and writing and loves playing dolls with her friends. She dreams of becoming a nurse in the future. For the past four months, Mengleang has been experiencing sore throat, loud snoring, difficulty breathing at night, and trouble swallowing food and drinking water. Mengleang was recently diagnosed with enlarged tonsils and adenoids, which, if not treated, will cause her symptoms to persist and possibly intensify over time. Our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, is requesting $345 to fund a tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy for Mengleang, which is scheduled to take place on May 21st. Surgeons will remove her tonsils and adenoids, hopefully relieving Mengleang of her symptoms and helping her live much more comfortably. Her mother said: “I am very worried to see my daughter struggling to breathe and sleep at night. I hope this treatment will help her breathe easily, sleep peacefully, and grow up healthy without pain or discomfort.”

Phanny is a 58-year-old clothes seller from Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia. She is married and has two sons, two daughters, and three grandchildren. She lives with her husband, who works for an NGO. Five years ago, Phanny developed a pterygium in her right eye, causing her to experience itchiness, tearing, and blurry vision. 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, wind, or dust, and the cells grow abnormally over the pupil. She has difficulty seeing things clearly, recognizing faces, working, and going anywhere outside. When Phanny learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for seven hours to seek treatment. Phanny needs a surgical procedure to remove the abnormal conjunctiva from the surface of the cornea. This will be replaced with a conjunctival graft to prevent a recurrence of the pterygium. Her surgery is scheduled to take place on July 14th. The cost of her procedure is $298, and Phanny needs your help to raise this amount, which will cover the expenses of medications, supplies, and a two-day hospital stay. Phanny said, "I hope after surgery my eye will stop burning and the irritation will go away, so that I don’t worry about my eye anymore, and I can go back to selling clothes without discomfort."