56 year old Sylvia lives with her sister in the Philippines. As she has no family of her own, she takes care of her sister's home to earn money for her personal expenses. Several years ago Sylvia began to experience troubling symptoms, including cough, itchiness and pain in the area around her throat. In June she was examined at our medical partner's care center Our Lady of Peace Hospital, where she was diagnosed with a multinodular, non-toxic goiter. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Fortunately, our medical partner, World Surgical Foundation Philippines (WSFP), is able to help Sylvia receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on November 25th at Our Lady of Peace Hospital, when surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. A portion of the cost of her treatment is being supported by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and WSFP needs your help to raise the remaining $935 to cover the cost of Sylvia's procedure and care. Sylvia said: "This operation is very important to me since it will help me go back to doing my usual chores properly. I'm very grateful to Watsi and its donors for helping me with my expenses for this life-changing surgery."

Ny is a 62-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. She has a daughter, three sons, and five grandchildren. She and her husband live near their children and help them on the farm. She enjoys keeping the house clean, cooking for her family, and listening to local monks pray. Three months ago, she was in a motorbike accident and fell on her left forearm, fracturing her forearm bones. Pins and wires were inserted by a local hospital to support the bones until they healed. The pins, called K-wires, have migrated out of their intended location and must be removed. The wires cause pain, increase the chance of infection, and risk injury to nerves or tendons. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, can help. On March 12th, Ny will undergo a hardware removal procedure, which will cost $304. This procedure will remove the misaligned pins and allow her fractures to continue to heal. Ny said, "I hope to have no pain, and my arm will heal well so I can take care of my family."

Elizabeth, who is seven months old, lives with her parents and two older brothers in a small house in Haiti, that they share with other relatives. Both of her parents are farmers. Elizabeth has a cardiac condition called atrioventricular septal defect. A large hole exists in the center of her heart, which affects all four of the heart's chambers. Blood leaks through this hole without passing through her lungs to obtain oxygen, leaving Elizabeth weak and unable to gain weight. Elizabeth will fly to the Dominican Republic to receive treatment. As she is too small and weak to undergo major surgery to completely correct her condition, on April 9th she will have a procedure, during which the doctors at Hospital CEDIMAT will implant a shunt, that will allow oxygenated blood to circulate through her body. This will stabilize Elizabeth's condition so that she can continue to grow and gain weight until she can more safely undergo a complete repair in several years. While another organization is contributing money to pay for Elizabeth's surgery, our medical partner, International Cardiac Alliance, is seeking your help to fund the $1,500 needed to cover the costs of Elizabeth's pre and post-operative care and for the documents and travel costs for Elizabeth, her family, and the social workers that will accompany the family. Elizabeth's mother said: "Our daughter's heart condition has been very stressful for our family, and we are very thankful to know that there may be a way to solve it!"