In the last ten days I have had the pleasure of seeing both Niko's first two teeth poking through and his progress from little frog jumps to what is now a real crawl. As any parent will know, these are the kind of memories which make life magical.
I mention this because this morning I met several parents who will also come to have very strong memories of their children from this particular week. The story started through a chance encounter with a lady called Ligia Pérez. She is the director of a local language school called La Lengua where Frédéric and I have both enrolled. http://www.la-lengua.com/
Frédéric is taking an intensive Spanish course and I am looking for reassurance that I haven't forgotten everything I ever knew. (Thankfully I haven't.) As well as running the language school, Ligia is a psychologist by profession who spends three mornings a week working with a local Foundation called Sol y Vida which works with children from poor families who are suffering from cancer. http://www.solyvida.info/
In short, the situation in Ecuador is this. Basic medical attention is available through public hospitals free of charge. However until last year as soon as a child was diagnosed with cancer the state no longer funded treatment. This has changed slightly, in that recent reforms have meant that cancer treatment is now funded for a limited period, but the reality is still that many children need treatment for which the families are expected to pay. Many of them simply can't - and this is where Sol y Vida steps in. Children from the poorest families are referred to the Foundation, which provides the money necessary in order to pay for the treatment. There are currently 60 children being funded in this way, each needing on average $1000 of treatment per year. 5-6 new referrals are received every month. Where no further treatment can be given the Foundation tries to pay for a last wish or dream to be fulfilled. The Foundation was set up a few years ago by parents of children attending the German School in Quito. The money needed to run it, (around $80,000 per year) is mostly raised through fundraising in Europe. No child is ever turned away.
And so it was that Ligia invited me, along with Lucie and Saskia, to spend a morning watching her work. The first little girl we met, Lesli, was three years old. One eye had already been removed and efforts were being made to save the second. Her parents had travelled eight hours on the bus to come to Quito for follow up treatment and were clearly exhausted. The Foundation negotiated with the hospital the price of the further treatment and the false eye that Lesli needed, agreeing to pay most of the cost, with the family paying the small contribution they were able to afford.
We then met another family. The little girl had had a malignant tumour removed from her arm six months ago and was now having follow up treatment. Her older sister's operation to remove a tumour from her neck took place just two days ago. She had waited five years. The whole family was now full of smiles despite their troubles and the obvious discomfort following the operation. Their nine hour trip back home is tomorrow.
I went for a moment to the waiting room where I met Biedad, a lady of a similar age to me who was obviously sad and frightened. I asked if she was alright and she started crying. She wanted to talk. It transpired that she had just been told her 15 year old daughter was going to die. Her daughter has a brain tumour which is now apparently inoperable. Her mother had travelled for eight hours to Quito to get a second opinion, only to find out that the oncologist was off duty today. Ligia gave Biedad as much support as she could, promising to speak to the doctor on her behalf. Biedad agreed to come back to Quito with her daughter on Monday when the doctor is back to see if anything more can be done.
There cannot be many things in life harder than facing the death of your own child. Except facing the death of your own child when you can't afford the treatment that could potentially save their life. These are the cases that Sol y Vida deal with. They do a brillliant job. We were given a guided tour of the children's hospital called Hospital Baca Ortiz and were greeted with warmth and smiles wherever we went. No-one asked for anything, despite the fact that we were surrounded by great need in every sense. The staff seemed to be making the best of the limited resources they had. We saw a little room which has been provided for the children in the chemotherapy ward where they can play with toys and draw and paint while they are waiting for treatment.
It was in this room that I overheard a conversation which has prompted the first donation from our Helsinki money. The hospital has run out of coloured pencils, crayons and paper for the children to draw with. It was clear how much this little room was helping to distract children in very distressing cicumstances, and their needs are so modest that this is something we can easily help with. I have made enquiries about the cheapest place to buy colouring books and pencils and we will deliver $100 worth to the hospital where they will be put into immediate use.
Seeing the bravery of these children, some of whom are dying, along with the huge efforts of their parents to do everything possible to save them, was a truely humbling experience. We all cried more than a few tears. Sadly our little contribution won't save lives, but I hope it will bring a few more smiles to the hospital and support the work of the people who really are able to save lives. For more info on the Foundation follow the link above. And thanks to everyone once again.
I mention this because this morning I met several parents who will also come to have very strong memories of their children from this particular week. The story started through a chance encounter with a lady called Ligia Pérez. She is the director of a local language school called La Lengua where Frédéric and I have both enrolled. http://www.la-lengua.com/
Frédéric is taking an intensive Spanish course and I am looking for reassurance that I haven't forgotten everything I ever knew. (Thankfully I haven't.) As well as running the language school, Ligia is a psychologist by profession who spends three mornings a week working with a local Foundation called Sol y Vida which works with children from poor families who are suffering from cancer. http://www.solyvida.info/
In short, the situation in Ecuador is this. Basic medical attention is available through public hospitals free of charge. However until last year as soon as a child was diagnosed with cancer the state no longer funded treatment. This has changed slightly, in that recent reforms have meant that cancer treatment is now funded for a limited period, but the reality is still that many children need treatment for which the families are expected to pay. Many of them simply can't - and this is where Sol y Vida steps in. Children from the poorest families are referred to the Foundation, which provides the money necessary in order to pay for the treatment. There are currently 60 children being funded in this way, each needing on average $1000 of treatment per year. 5-6 new referrals are received every month. Where no further treatment can be given the Foundation tries to pay for a last wish or dream to be fulfilled. The Foundation was set up a few years ago by parents of children attending the German School in Quito. The money needed to run it, (around $80,000 per year) is mostly raised through fundraising in Europe. No child is ever turned away.
And so it was that Ligia invited me, along with Lucie and Saskia, to spend a morning watching her work. The first little girl we met, Lesli, was three years old. One eye had already been removed and efforts were being made to save the second. Her parents had travelled eight hours on the bus to come to Quito for follow up treatment and were clearly exhausted. The Foundation negotiated with the hospital the price of the further treatment and the false eye that Lesli needed, agreeing to pay most of the cost, with the family paying the small contribution they were able to afford.
We then met another family. The little girl had had a malignant tumour removed from her arm six months ago and was now having follow up treatment. Her older sister's operation to remove a tumour from her neck took place just two days ago. She had waited five years. The whole family was now full of smiles despite their troubles and the obvious discomfort following the operation. Their nine hour trip back home is tomorrow.
I went for a moment to the waiting room where I met Biedad, a lady of a similar age to me who was obviously sad and frightened. I asked if she was alright and she started crying. She wanted to talk. It transpired that she had just been told her 15 year old daughter was going to die. Her daughter has a brain tumour which is now apparently inoperable. Her mother had travelled for eight hours to Quito to get a second opinion, only to find out that the oncologist was off duty today. Ligia gave Biedad as much support as she could, promising to speak to the doctor on her behalf. Biedad agreed to come back to Quito with her daughter on Monday when the doctor is back to see if anything more can be done.
There cannot be many things in life harder than facing the death of your own child. Except facing the death of your own child when you can't afford the treatment that could potentially save their life. These are the cases that Sol y Vida deal with. They do a brillliant job. We were given a guided tour of the children's hospital called Hospital Baca Ortiz and were greeted with warmth and smiles wherever we went. No-one asked for anything, despite the fact that we were surrounded by great need in every sense. The staff seemed to be making the best of the limited resources they had. We saw a little room which has been provided for the children in the chemotherapy ward where they can play with toys and draw and paint while they are waiting for treatment.
It was in this room that I overheard a conversation which has prompted the first donation from our Helsinki money. The hospital has run out of coloured pencils, crayons and paper for the children to draw with. It was clear how much this little room was helping to distract children in very distressing cicumstances, and their needs are so modest that this is something we can easily help with. I have made enquiries about the cheapest place to buy colouring books and pencils and we will deliver $100 worth to the hospital where they will be put into immediate use.
Seeing the bravery of these children, some of whom are dying, along with the huge efforts of their parents to do everything possible to save them, was a truely humbling experience. We all cried more than a few tears. Sadly our little contribution won't save lives, but I hope it will bring a few more smiles to the hospital and support the work of the people who really are able to save lives. For more info on the Foundation follow the link above. And thanks to everyone once again.
It just breaks ones heart to hear these stories. And yet - Thank god for the Sol y Vida foundation! Wish there was an easy way to send toys etc there. Of course the best would be that no such foundations were needed ...
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