Kakoko is a farmer from Uganda. Kakoko is married and a father to twelve children. He has six sons, of whom two are builders, two are small scale farmers, and the last two are still in school studying. All of his six daughters are married and also are small scale farmers.
For the last ten years, Kakoko has experienced an anterior neck swelling. He began to experience troubling symptoms, including difficulty with swallowing, shortness of breath, intermittent headaches and becomes easily fatigued. Kakoko was diagnosed with a goitre, which is an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. He needs surgery to prevent his symptoms from getting worse.
However, this procedure is costly for Kakoko and his family. He currently makes a living from his farming, growing crops for his family’s consumption and selling the surplus to generate an income for the family. His wife is a casual laborer and works in other people’s gardens to earn a living.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $252 to help Kakoko receive treatment. He is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on November 3rd at our medical partner’s care center, where surgeons will remove all or part of his thyroid gland. The surgery will remove the goitre and significantly improve his quality of life.
Kakoko shared, “I hope to get much better after my surgery and to resume with farming after I have completely recovered.”