Vichheka is a 26-year-old from Cambodia. Along with caring for her daughter, Vichheka and her husband sell grocery products from their home. When Vichheka was a toddler, she fell off the front stoop of her home, possibly creating a left hip deformity. Her parents brought her to Children's Surgical Centre (CSC) for examination; it was decided that surgery was not needed at the time. Since then, she has suffered from frequent spasms down her left leg, made worse by prolonged periods of standing while working. A relative suggested she return to CSC to determine if there was a solution to her ongoing pain. Now doctors would like Vichheka to undergo contracture release surgery on her rectus femoris, a muscle in the upper leg to finally heal her condition. After recovery, Vichheka should be in less pain. Now, she needs $572 to fund her procedure. Vichheka shared "I hope I can walk easier with no more pain after this surgery, so I can help my husband and raise my child."

Thu Ra is a 13-year-old boy from Burma who lives with his family in Karen State. Thu Ra is the youngest of his three siblings. His father is a day labourer and his mother is a homemaker. Around seven years ago, Thu Ra started experiencing a loss of appetite and feelings of dizziness along with muscle tightness and pain throughout his body. He was diagnosed with thalassemia, a blood disorder that causes the body to have less hemoglobin than normal. Physicians at Mae Sot General Hospital determined Thu Ra should undergo a splenectomy, surgery to remove the spleen, which will help manage his condition. Our medical partner, Burma Children Medical Fund, is requesting $1,500 to fund this procedure. The treatment is scheduled to take place at Mae Sot General Hospital on April 1st. Once completed, Thu Ra's quality of life is expected to improve. Thu Ra's mother said, “If Thu Ra gets better, I wish for him to finish school and become an educator. Thank you so much to the donors. If it were just up to me, I couldn’t afford the surgery on my own. It means a lot to me and my family. Thank you.”

Kanha is an 8-year-old third grader. She lives in Kampong Speu province with her older brother and grandparents. Her mom works in a handbag factory a couple of hours away, and can spend time with her children on weekends. Her grandparents work as rice farmers, and have some extra income from their daughter's factory job. In her free time, Kanha likes reading and art. She hopes to do well in school so she can work at a bank or private company one day. When she was one year old, Kanha dropped some bread into an open cooking fire. Unfortunately, her right fingers were badly burned when she tried to retrieve the bread. She was treated at a local hospital to manage the burns and prevent infection. Since that time, burn scar contractures have developed, tightening the skin around her fingers. When Kanha's family learned about our medical partner, Children's Surgical Centre, she traveled for two hours seeking treatment. On December 5th, surgeons at CSC will perform a burn contracture release surgery to help her to use her hand easily again. Now, her family needs help to fund this $495 procedure. Kanha said: "I want to be able to hold my pens at school and use my hand better."