Mao is a 26-year-old delivery driver from Cambodia. He lives in Pursat Province with his three siblings, his parents, and his niece. His parents work as rice farmers, and his siblings help support the family by working in various local jobs, including factory work and making deliveries for local shops and restaurants. In his free time, Mao enjoys playing soccer and raising cows in the fields behind the family's house. When he was nine years old, Mao had an ear infection. This infection caused a cholesteatoma, or an abnormal skin growth, to develop in the middle ear behind the ear drum. For this reason, Mao experiences recurrent left ear discharge, accompanied by dizziness and ringing in the ear. It is difficult for him to communicate with people, and he experiences chronic discomfort. Mao traveled to our medical partner's care center to receive treatment. On June 3rd, he will undergo a mastoidectomy procedure in his left ear. During this procedure, ENT surgeons will remove the cholesteatoma. Mao can contribute $250 towards his medical care but needs assistance to raise $676 more to fund the procedure. Mao shared, "I hope my hearing will improve, and I can work without any pain or difficulty hearing my customers."

Meshack is a three-month-old baby boy from Kenya. He is the only child in the family. Meshack's mother is not able to work because Meshack is too young to be left in the care of someone else. Meshack's father does casual jobs like plowing farms and any other job he is able to secure to support his family. Meshack was born with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of his condition, Meshack has been experiencing fever and vomiting since he was two weeks old. His parents brought him to our medical partner's care center, BethanyKids Kijabe Hospital, where he has been scheduled for an urgent shunt insertion surgery. Without treatment, Meshack will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $719 to cover the cost of hydrocephalus surgery for Meshack, scheduled on September 4th. The procedure will drain the excess fluid from Meshack's brain, reduce intracranial pressure, and greatly improve his quality of life. With proper treatment and care, Meshack will hopefully develop into a strong, healthy young boy. Meshack’s mother says “I pray that Meshack gets the needed surgery so that he can grow up healthy.”

Rabecca is a single mother of two children from Malawi. She works as a household helper and sometimes she gets support from her daughter who does business selling firewood. Rabecca likes chatting with children and enjoys eating nsima, a local porrdige, served with fresh fish. For four years, Rabecca has been experiencing a growing lower abdominal distention which was easily mistaken for pregnancy and was associated with pain and dizziness. This affected her day-to-day activities, reducing her income. She visited our medical partner's care center, Partners in Hope Medical Center, and a scan was done. Rabecca was diagnosed with uterine fibroids and needs to undergo a hysterectomy, a procedure in which surgeons will remove her uterus. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is requesting $1,363 to fund Rabecca's surgery. On August 21st, she will undergo gynecological surgery, and once recovered, Rabecca will be able to resume her daily activities free of pain. Rabecca said, “I will be a very happy woman after going through surgery to get rid of the disturbing symptoms for me to concentrate on my job as a maid and continue supporting my children as a single mother.”