Chu is a 44-year-old woman from Burma. She lives with her sister and niece in Mae Sot District, Tak Province, Thailand. She left her home in Yangon Region, Burma, to escape violence after a military coup in 2021. Chu and her sister work at a church in Mae Sot, where they cook and clean for daily events and handle behind-the-scenes tasks for weddings, funerals, and parties. They rely on donations from the church and have no formal salary. The income she receives is enough to cover basic expenses for the family, including food and healthcare. In her free time, she loves to cook and bake desserts. After surgery, she wants to continue to make snacks and potentially start a business selling them on her own. Since 2023, Chu has been experiencing troubling symptoms, including right lower back pain and right lower abdomen pain. The pain worsens when Chu stands or sits for long periods of time. Her symptoms are exacerbated at work, but she continues her duties, taking oral painkillers to manage the pain. Doctors plan to perform a ureteroscopy, a procedure used to diagnose and treat kidney stones or ureteral blockages by passing a small, fiberoptic scope through the urethra and bladder into the ureter. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 for this procedure. The treatment is scheduled to take place on April 10th. Once completed, this procedure will hopefully alleviate her symptoms. Chu said, "I had nowhere else to look for money. After your organisation agreed to help me, I felt relieved. I have fled from my home and left my family to come here. However, I feel warm and supported by my church with basic needs. Thank you for helping me.”

Fenet is eight-year-old girl from Ethiopia. She lives in a loving home with her parents and two brothers. She is supported by her father, who works for the government, and her mother, who was once a teacher but now devotes all her time to caring for their children. For the past seven years, Fenet has been fighting a difficult battle with chronic tonsillitis. This ongoing health struggle has made it very hard for her to enjoy her daily life and feel like a happy, active child. During an episode, Fenet experiences severe throat pain, low appetite, and exhausting fevers, leaving her without the energy she needs to play with friends or focus in school. She often misses class and is stressed about falling behind her classmates. Fenet was recently diagnosed with enlarged tonsils, which, if not treated, will cause her symptoms to persist and possibly intensify over time. Our medical partner, Saglan Wajee General Hospital, is requesting $700 to fund a tonsillectomy for Fenet, which is scheduled to take place on June 6th. Surgeons will remove her tonsils, hopefully relieving Fenet of her symptoms and helping her live more comfortably. Fenet’s parents shared, “We hope to provide her with a healthy and completely uninterrupted childhood, where she can finally leave behind these years of chronic throat pain and sudden fevers.”

Catherine is a 62-year-old farmer from Malawi, and a mother of two. She lives alone in a village in rural Lilongwe, with her two children having grown up and now living independently. Life has not been easy this year. With little money to buy fertilizer, her harvest was poor. The crops she managed to grow are only enough to feed her, with nothing left to sell for income. Still, she continued working because she has no one else to depend on for her daily needs. Since January this year, Catherine has been experiencing severe abdominal pain which has made it difficult for her to work, rest, or move comfortably. At first, she thought he condition was gastritis. Even when she sought medical help, she was only given paracetamol to ease the pain, but the relief never lasted. Eventually, she was diagnosed with an epigastric hernia, which is a bulge that occurs in the upper abdomen, caused by tissue pushing through weak abdominal muscle. Presently, the pain has slowed her down, taking away the strength she needs to take care of herself. Full of hope, she went to our medical partner's care center, Nkhoma Hospital, where surgery has been recommended to treat her condition. While hearing this gave her hope, the cost of the procedure was far beyond what she could afford. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Catherine receive treatment. On May 13th, she will undergo hernia repair surgery at Nkhoma Hospital. For Catherine, this surgery means more than relief from pain. It means being able to continue caring for herself, tending to her land, and living with independence. Catherine is able to contribute towards the cost of her treatment, but needs help raising $421 to fund the procedure. Catherine says, “If I become too sick to work, there is no one else to help with my daily activities. I have to remain strong so I can continue living and taking care of myself. I am hoping for help because this surgery will give me a chance to live without this pain.”