Samnang is a two-year-old boy from Cambodia. He lives in Phnom Penh with his parents and his 3-year-old brother. His mother stays home to care for the children and his father is in the army. At home, Samnang likes to play with his toys and enjoys eating fried chicken prepared by his mother. At birth, Samnang was diagnosed with arthrogryposis, a term used to describe a variety of conditions involving multiple joint and muscle contractures or stiffness. As a result of this condition, Samnang has clubfoot on both feet. Clubfoot is a condition where the foot is rotated. This causes pain and difficulty walking. Samnang traveled for one and a half hours to visit our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). There, surgeons will perform a bilateral tendon release and insert a K-wire on March 1st. CSC is requesting $444 to fund Samnang's clubfoot repair. After treatment and therapy, he will be able to walk and be more active. Samnang's mother said, "I hope after surgery, my son will learn to walk, have no pain, and keep up with his older brother."

Roem is a 25-year-old construction worker from Prey Veng province. Roem shares a home with his mother, his elderly grandmother, and his three siblings - one brother, and two sisters. Most of the family farms rice or works in local clothing factories. Last August, Roem was riding his motorbike, when he collided with a trailer that was being towed by another motorbike. The collision resulted in significant injuries, particularly to Roem's right forearm, which was fractured, along with his wrist. The local clinic where his parents took him asked for $800 to do surgery, a price beyond their means, so the family traveled three hours to seek help from our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre. Roem underwent an open reduction internal fixation of his right radial fracture, and several metacarpal bones. However, subsequent complications, including persistent infections, necessitate the removal of the hardware that was placed during the initial surgery. Children's Surgical Centre is requesting $304 to defray the cost of the hardware removal procedure, which is scheduled for January 8th, at Kien Khleang National Rehabilitation Centre. This procedure should eliminate infections at the surgical site, and facilitate the ongoing healing process of Roem's bones. Roem said: "I hope the infection goes away and my hand is better, so I can go back to construction work to help my family."

Mpapa is a 61-year-old man from a village in Malawi. He has four married children and lives with his wife and grandchildren. When he was young, Mpapa needed to stop attending primary school making it hard for him to secure a job. He depends on farming where he grows maize and groundnuts for his family and for commercial purposes to support their day-to-day costs. Mpapa was diagnosed with an enlarged prostate and scheduled for surgery with our medical partner at Nkhoma Hospital. However, he cannot afford the entire cost of the surgery. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $530 to fund the balance payment for his surgery. Mpapa says, “I hope to receive treatment and resume life without this condition.”