Dickson is a married man from a village in Lilongwe District. He has one child who is in primary school, and to support his family, he depends on a motorcycle transport business locally known as Kabaza. He also practices small-scale farming where he grows maize, tomatoes, and groundnuts for consumption and commercial purposes. Dickson was hit by a car while he was on his motorcycle, and he sustained a fracture to his left upper arm. He was rushed to our medical partner's Nkhoma Hospital the same night where he was diagnosed with distal radius fracture, and he was scheduled to undergo open reduction and internal fixation surgery. However, Dickson cannot afford to pay for the surgery although he is willing to pay the little that he can afford. This condition has had a negative impact on Dickson’s life as he feels pain from the fracture, and he is worried about his family’s well-being as he will not be able to work on his farm or his business due to the fracture. If the condition is left untreated, pain and swelling may continue to worsen over time and there might be a misalignment of the fractured bone. Our medical partner African Mission Healthcare is requesting $525 to fund his surgery. After treatment, Dickson will be relieved of his pain and able to work to support his family again. Dickson says, “I have no idea how I will take care of my family with no income from my business. I hope to get well soon.”

Ravin is a 13-year-old monk from Prey Veng province where his father is a construction worker and his mother is a homemaker. He has two younger brothers - a 6-year-old in grade one, and a 2-year-old not yet in school who stays home with their mother. He resides in the local temple, learning chanting, meditation, and the study of religious texts. When Ravin was just one year old, an unfortunate incident occurred where he accidentally plunged his hand into a fire, resulting in severe burns to his right hand and wrist. He had medical care at a nearby children's hospital. However, when he and his family returned for follow-up care, they faced a setback. The crucial paperwork from his initial treatment had gone missing, leading to a situation where the hospital declined to proceed with any additional necessary surgeries. He suffers from burn scar contracture on his right wrist which are deviated to the ulnar side, meaning his fingers are bent toward his little finger. His right fingers are webbed and he is unable to write, or grasp objects with his right hand. When Ravin learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, he traveled for three hours seeking treatment. On January 29th, surgeons at CSC will perform a burn contracture release surgery to to help him use his hand again. Now, he needs help to fund this $495 procedure. Ravin said: "I hope my hand will be better and I can use my hand for writing after my surgery."

Lezina is a 51-year-old woman with 3 children. She separated from her husband who later remarried and shared that she believes he left because of her medical condition. All her children are women and they got married at a tender age due to financial challenges in their family. Currently, Lezina has found it difficult to secure even a low-paying job as a maid. Lezina likes chatting with her grandchildren and enjoys eating anything that is available. Lezina indicated that she started experiencing a swelling above the umbilical area in 2020. She lived with the problem since it was on and off and was not associated with pain. Later in 2023, the swelling episodes became frequent and it began to affect her daily activities. Lezina presented herself to Kamuzu Central Hospital where different tests were done, without much help. As time passed by, in December 2023 she had increasing pains and went back to KCH where further assessments were done, and a diagnosis of hernia was made after identifying the source of pain. KCH booked Lezina on their waiting list. While still waiting, her first-born daughter met a friend who shared the good news that she was a beneficiary of Watsi's program with our partner African Mission Healthcare and recommended aher to report to PIH Hospital for support. Lezina met the surgeon at PIH who confirmed the diagnosis of hernia and the need for surgical intervention called hernia repair. A hernia is a condition in which soft tissue bulges through a weak point in the abdominal muscle. If the hernia is left untreated, the size of the protruding intestine might get bigger and become strangulated leading to the reduction of blood flow to the surrounding tissues which may be life-threatening. Lezina was referred to our program due to her financial instability. Her daughter committed to helping support her treatment and Lezina believes that the surgery will help her get back to normal life and that people will now have a different perception of her. Lezina needs your help raising $575 to fund her surgery. Lezina happily said, “I just want to get well and concentrate on my children.”