Tway is a 20-year-old man from Thailand. He lives with his cousin, his cousin’s wife and two nephews in a village in Tak Province, Thailand. Since his parents passed away, he has lived with various relatives in Burma and in Thailand. Tway has lived with his cousin for the past year. His cousin’s family grows paddy and vegetables for them to eat, while his nephews go to school. He helps his cousin with farming, but he does not get paid. In his free time, Tway likes to hunt birds and fish. When he recovers, he wants to find work so he can be independent. Currently, Tway has a colostomy. Since he has been receiving colostomy bags from the mobile health team, he feels more confident to go out in public and be around other people. Doctors want Tway to undergo an MRI. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose his condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $814 to cover the cost of Tway's MRI and care, scheduled for February 6th. Tway said, “People in Burma treated me different than the people from Thailand because of my condition. I want to get treatment and be treated the same as other people.”

Purity is is a young lady aged 18 years who resides in in Kiambu County. She is the last born in a family of four children. Purity completed secondary school in 2022 and scored well enough to join the university. Unfortunately, she has not yet joined due to a lack of school fees. Her parents, who are farmers, are not able to raise the fee required to attend the university. This makes Purity very sad because she focused all her effort into studying, though she understands her parents’ situation and hopes she can get help soon to pursue her education. In December 2023, Purity began to experience troubling symptoms, including neck swelling. It was Purity’s elder sister who noted her neck was swollen. She was taken to the hospital, and a scan showed a multinodular goiter. She was referred to our medical partner's care center, Nazareth Hospital, for further tests and treatment. She was diagnosed with multinodular goiter. Her surgeon advised them to have a thyroidectomy to heal her condition, but due to their low income, her parents are not in a position to pay for this treatment. If not treated, the goiter may become very big, compressing the trachea and esophagus, leading to breathing and feeding difficulties. She may also have hyperthyroidism leading to palpitations, sweating and weight loss. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Purity receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on March 5th at our medical partner's care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $625, and she and her family need help raising money. “I am very much worried about this condition. I pray that someone will come to my aid so that I can be treated and be ready to go to university by the time my parents will manage to pay,” said Purity.

Nan is a 50-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. Nan's and his wife have eight children. Four still live at home - one son works in the rice paddies with his parents, and the three youngest children are still in school. His four older children are married but visit the family frequently. Last February, when Nan was on his way home on his motorbike during a rainstorm, he suddenly lost control of the bike on the muddy road. He fractured his left femur, but could not afford to visit the clinic, so he was treated by a Khmer traditional healer. His fractured femur has still not healed. When a bone fracture is untreated, the bone doesn't heal at all, which means that it will remain broken. As a result, Nan continues to have swelling, tenderness, and pain that has worsened over the past ten months. It is difficult for him to walk and he is in constant pain. Nan is embarrassed because he cannot work outside with his wife and son or help to feed his family. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner Children's Surgical Centre (CSC) can help. On December 11th, Nan will undergo a fracture repair procedure, which will cost $483. This procedure will fixate his unhealed fracture with an orthopedic nail to help to heal the bone and allow him to walk again. Nan is able to contribute towards the cost of surgery and needs help raising the remaining to fund his procedure. He said, "I hope to be able to walk again after my operation, so I can work to feed my family and send my younger children to school."