Thein is a seven-year-old student from Burma. She lives with her mother and grandfather and is currently a first-grade student. Her father works as a driver at a toy factory in Bangkok and Thein’s mother stays home to care for her. The family relies on her father’s income, which is enough to cover their daily expenses. They are able to pay for basic healthcare, but they cannot afford expensive treatment costs. During her free time, Thein enjoys helping her mother with household chores. Currently, Thein faces difficulty seeing objects clearly, requiring the use of thick eyeglasses. Additionally, she must sit in the front row of the classroom, near the blackboard, to follow her teachers’ lesson. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund lens replacement surgery for Thein. On February 16th, doctors will perform a lens replacement, during which they will remove Thein's natural lenses and replace them with an intraocular lens implant in each eye. After recovery, she will be able to see clearly. Now, she and her family need help to fund this $1,500 procedure. Thein’s mother said, “Thank you [BCMF and donors] for helping my daughter to get a good and clear vision. I pray for the donors to have wealthy lives and continue helping others.” Thein also said, “I want to be a teacher when I grow up and thanks for your help.”

Nan is a 50-year-old rice farmer from Cambodia. Nan's and his wife have eight children. Four still live at home - one son works in the rice paddies with his parents, and the three youngest children are still in school. His four older children are married but visit the family frequently. Last February, when Nan was on his way home on his motorbike during a rainstorm, he suddenly lost control of the bike on the muddy road. He fractured his left femur, but could not afford to visit the clinic, so he was treated by a Khmer traditional healer. His fractured femur has still not healed. When a bone fracture is untreated, the bone doesn't heal at all, which means that it will remain broken. As a result, Nan continues to have swelling, tenderness, and pain that has worsened over the past ten months. It is difficult for him to walk and he is in constant pain. Nan is embarrassed because he cannot work outside with his wife and son or help to feed his family. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner Children's Surgical Centre (CSC) can help. On December 11th, Nan will undergo a fracture repair procedure, which will cost $483. This procedure will fixate his unhealed fracture with an orthopedic nail to help to heal the bone and allow him to walk again. Nan is able to contribute towards the cost of surgery and needs help raising the remaining to fund his procedure. He said, "I hope to be able to walk again after my operation, so I can work to feed my family and send my younger children to school."

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.”