Hla Moe is a 30-year-old man who lives with his parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, and son in a village in Karen State, Burma. His family owns a paddy farm where most of them work. They use a small area of the farm to plant vegetables for themselves. They also raise chickens, pigs, and goats that they sell. Hla Moe stays at home to look after his son, while his wife lives in Mae Sot, Thailand, and works as a medic. In his free time, he likes to watch the news. Many years ago, Hla Moe experienced pain in his back and the left side of his abdomen. The pain became more frequent and severe, prompting him to seek medical treatment. Hla Moe was seen to have multiple stones in his left kidney and is recommended to have surgery. Fortunately, our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, can help. Hla Moe is scheduled for surgery to remove the kidney stones on March 15th. He needs help raising $1,500 for the surgery. Hla Moe said, “I am lucky that there are donors who will support my treatment. Without your support, I would never be able to get treatment. I am thankful for all the support you’ve given me.”

Heng is a 70-year-old grandmother from Cambodia with nine children and fifteen grandchildren. Heng's husband recently died, and she moved in with her youngest son. Together they care for an orphaned child from the village. Her son works in construction, while Heng's other children send small amounts of their income to Heng to help support her living expenses. In her free time, she likes to cook and go to the village pagoda to pray. Around three months ago, Heng developed a cataract in her left eye - a clouding of the lens of the eye that causes cloudy vision, as if looking through a frosty or fogged-up window. Heng now has blurry vision, headaches, and watery eyes. She has difficulty seeing things, including colors and faces, and is worried about falling when walking, so is not able to go places on her own. She is not able to safely go up and down the steps of her traditional village home. When Heng learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for one and a half hours seeking treatment. On March 11th, doctors will perform a small incision cataract surgery and implant an intraocular lens in her left eye. After recovery, hopefully, she will be able to see clearly. Now, Heng needs help to fund this $253 procedure. She shared: "I hope I can improve my vision so I can go places without feeling afraid and recognize faces in the village."

Aye is a 25-year-old woman from Thailand. She lives with her parents, grandfather, aunt, brother, sister and daughter. She and her sister are homemakers, while her father is a day labourer. Her brother works in a garment factory, and her mother and aunt are unemployed. Since Aye was 12 years old, she has experienced difficulty passing urine on and off. In October, this worsened and she now has blood in her urine and severe pain in her lower back. Doctors want Aye to undergo a CT scan, a procedure in which x-ray images taken from several angles are combined to produce cross-sectional images of the body. This scan will hopefully help doctors diagnose her condition and formulate an appropriate treatment plan. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $414 to cover the cost of Aye's CT scan and care, scheduled for December 20th. Aye said, "I have been experiencing these symptoms for so many years but because of financial problems, I have never receive proper treatment."