Zikereta is a 29-year-old woman and a married mother of three children. Her oldest child is five years old and in school, while her second and third children are three and one years old, respectively. She and her husband are small scale farmers and they own a three-room semi-permanent house for shelter.
Eight years ago, Zikereta began experiencing troubling symptoms, including swelling at the front of her neck, and airway blockages. She was diagnosed with a goiter, or enlarged thyroid. She is unable to carry heavy loads on her head and struggles to even carry her child around. She visited our medical partner’s care center seeking treatment and surgery was recommended. If not treated, her symptoms will persist and the goiter could become cancerous.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Zikereta receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on June 2nd at AMH’s care center, where surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. Now, Zikereta needs help to fund this $293 procedure.
Zikereta shared, “I pray that I may be considered for treatment. I hope to get back to farming afterwards.”