Win is a 65-year-old woman from Thailand. She lives on a farm with her husband, cultivating their land to grow vegetables. When Win and her husband have the chance, they will go out into the forest and collect leaves used to make roofs on houses and firewood for their home. Around 10 years ago, Win began to experience blurry vision in her left eye. These symptoms have made it increasingly difficult for her to see. Win was diagnosed with retinal detachment, a condition in which the retina pulls away from the supportive tissue in the eye, resulting in vision loss. If left untreated, she could lose vision completely. Win is scheduled to undergo surgery to reattach her retina on March 12th. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of her procedure and care. After her surgery, Win's vision will hopefully be restored and she can resume her daily activities comfortably. Win shared, “I must move around very slowly, sometimes I trip over things and fall because I cannot see them.”

Thu Ra is a 13-year-old boy from Burma who lives with his family in Karen State. Thu Ra is the youngest of his three siblings. His father is a day labourer and his mother is a homemaker. Around seven years ago, Thu Ra started experiencing a loss of appetite and feelings of dizziness along with muscle tightness and pain throughout his body. He was diagnosed with thalassemia, a blood disorder that causes the body to have less hemoglobin than normal. Physicians at Mae Sot General Hospital determined Thu Ra should undergo a splenectomy, surgery to remove the spleen, which will help manage his condition. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund this procedure. The treatment is scheduled to take place at Mae Sot General Hospital on April 1st. Once completed, Thu Ra's quality of life is expected to improve. Thu Ra's mother said, “If Thu Ra gets better, I wish for him to finish school and become an educator. Thank you so much to the donors. If it were just up to me, I couldn’t afford the surgery on my own. It means a lot to me and my family. Thank you.”

Khmao is a 61-year-old stay-at-home mother with four daughters. She lives in Kampot province with her husband, who drives a tuk-tuk, and three of her children. Her oldest daughter is married and lives nearby. Khmao likes to care for her vegetable garden around the house and make sweets for her family. Five years ago, Khmao had an ear infection. This infection caused a cholesteatoma, or an abnormal skin growth, to develop in the middle ear behind the ear drum. For this reason, Khmao experiences hearing loss, ear pain, and ear discharge. It is difficult for her to communicate with people. In the past year, she has completely lost hearing in her left ear. Khmao traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On April 2nd, she will undergo a mastoidectomy in her left ear, which is surgery to remove cells in the hollow, air-filled spaces in the skull behind the ear within the mastoid bone. During this procedure, ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. Khmao and her family are able to contribute $100 but need an additional $926 to fund this procedure. This covers medications, supplies, and inpatient care. Khmao said, "I hope I will be able to hear normally and communicate better with others."