Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – A child diagnosed with cancer impacts an entire family. Not only does a cancer diagnosis turn a child’s entire world upside down, but overwhelming medical expenses can add an enormous amount of financial stress on families with minimal income.
Aid to Families of Children With Cancer (AFCC) is an organization that supports families who have a child diagnosed with cancer in the Puerto Vallarta region. The organization receives no government funding so relies solely on donations from private donors, community organizations, and fundraisers.
The pandemic has made this past year especially difficult for these families but, thanks to all of you, the AFCC continues to make a difference. Here’s the latest news from the AFCC:
Valentina’s hair is growing!
Valentina, one of our seven children who had multiple hospital stays this past month, is now home, and her hair is growing. In the photo above she shows off her birthday dress that she finally gets to wear now that she’s back home.
This photo of Alanna was taken during her fourth hospital stay within a month. The hospital stays, as well as the trips back and forth to Guadalajara, are exhausting for Alanna as well as her mother.
Haidee and Esmy are packaging cards that were printed using Luis Alberto’s heart painting. These will be for sale shortly, and I’ll update where you can buy them. The pesos he earns will help pay for his tuition at University this autumn.
We are now assisting 22 families who are just trying to survive from day to day. Seven of the children have been going to hospitals in Guadalajara for regular treatments. As the pandemic continues, it becomes more and more challenging to maintain our level of support.
Financial limitations puts a burden on the families that come to us for help and support and on us as well. As you can imagine, it takes many pesos to provide our services of monthly despensas, medical treatments, and mental health treatments.
A huge thank you to the donors who helped us this past month. We rely on the generosity and goodwill of people like you for help!
Children’s Day is coming up at the end of this month. We want to be able to give each of the children something special on this day of celebration. We also want to put together some “care packages” for the children and moms who have to travel back and forth.
Please help us by donating HERE. If you would like your donation to go to a specific project, please put this in the comments field.