Esther is a 61-year-old widow from Malawi. She has three children. Esther runs a small business selling popcorn. Esther Likes praying and enjoys eating rice served with local chicken. In 2019, Esther began to experience troubling symptoms, including a neck swelling that was hard to the touch. She went to a nearby hospital where she was diagnosed with a goiter, an enlargement of the thyroid gland. The thyroid is the gland located in front of your neck and produces thyroid hormones. These hormones are responsible for functions such as metabolism, growth, and other bodily functions. As time passed, the goiter became bigger, causing breathlessness, frequent choking, especially at night when sleeping, neck pains and heaviness, and the inability to walk long distances and carry items on her head. Esther's symptoms have impacted her daily activities and she no longer has the energy to do her business. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Esther receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on June 4th, where surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $1,015 and she and her family need help raising money. Esther said, “I want to be healthy and I hope I will get better. I am patiently waiting for the day I receive surgery.”

Evasi is a farmer from Mozambique. His family fled to Malawi when the country faced civil unrest. They took refuge in the district of Dedza until he was a teenager. Years later, they returned to Mozambique when the area they lived in became peaceful. Evasi settled and married there. He is a father to eight children. He works hard as a tobacco farmer. Since 2023, Evasi has had a right inguinal hernia. Because of it, he suffers from back aches and abdominal pains. He has sought medical help from several hospitals in Mozambique, which have all failed to provide him with support. He became frustrated and hoped that maybe he could get better care in Malawi. Evasi was eventually referred to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare. On September 5th, he will undergo hernia repair with mesh surgery at our medical partner's care center, Nkhoma Hospital, and is requesting $500 to fund the surgery. Once completed, the surgery will hopefully allow him to live more comfortably. Evasi says, "I will be very happy if this condition is permanently treated so that I can regain my strength to continue providing for my home."

Chhin is a six-month-old baby girl from Cambodia. She lives with her sister and parents in Prey Veng Province. Her parents are rice farmers. At home, Chhin enjoys drinking milk and napping next to her mother. She is also attracted to the visual and auditory stimulation of videos on her mother's phone. Chhin has clubfoot on her right foot. Clubfoot is a condition in which the foot is twisted out of shape. This causes difficulty walking and even wearing shoes. Fortunately, Chhin traveled three hours to visit our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre (CSC). There, surgeons will perform a clubfoot repair procedure, on June 18th. Chhin's family is able to contribute $100 towards her medical care but needs help raising $344 more to fund the procedure. After treatment, the movement in the ankle joint will increase, which is crucial for walking and other motor activities. She will be able to stand and feel comfortable when she learns to walk. Chhin parents said, "We hope that Chhin can stand and walk in a normal position as she grows up."