The first time I heard about Eric Njuguna was at a Rotary Meeting. 15 year old Eric Njuguna is a student at Aga-Khan Academy who has Burkitt’s Lymphoma- A dreadfully aggressive but curable form of cancer. Some friends of his from Aga Khan Academy had come to tell us about Eric and his situation. They wanted us to help them raise money to take care of his treatment.
We got to watch a video from Eric’s friends. Eric’s treatment has been hampered by the fact that while undergoing treatment in Kenya he got spinal meningitis. This made his treatment become complicated and that is the reason his mother took him to India to get specialized treatment.
This Monday Wanjiri Githiomi – Nganga came to talk to us at our Rotary meeting as well. It is sad that things have escalated in such a bad way that the hospital in India is threatening to withdraw treatment and imprison his mother for the debts accrued. The good news is that now Eric is 90% cancer free and is undergoing radiation to kill the cancer which had spread to his spine due to the spinal meningitis. The biggest huddle now is his hospital bill which is very high.
Luckily many people have come forward to help after hearing his story. But we still need to give more support to Eric and other cancer children as well. KeemoKidz was established to assist Eric, who is currently in India undergoing treatment. KeemoKidz most critical and immediate objective is to mobilize funds to restart treatment and secure it for as long as Eric needs it.
Acknowledging that cancer in Kenya has morphed into an epidemic, they are now in the process of registering KeemoKidz as a foundation which engages in social and entrepreneurial activities to raise funds and support vulnerable children afflicted by cancer. KeemoKidz’s is positioned as an Organization ‘For Kidz by Kidz by under adult supervision and parental guidance.
STATUS Since the campaign begun, KeemoKiz and family and friends have remitted just over Ksh2.6 Million to India which has cleared a large chunk of the existing debt. However, since hospital has slapped Eric with a ‘No Cash No Treatment’ ultimatum, his mom is required to buy all consumables upfront. At this point, he urgently needs money for radiation to arrest the cancer cells in his spine from attacking the brain. They are looking to raise Ksh 6 million.
Current Partners. They are also supported by Standard Media Group, Capital FM, Resolution Health, Unlimited Directions, Unga Kenya Ltd and Radio Africa.
To create awareness they are doing the following
• Eric’s situation room
To be held on 31st August 2013 between 12 am and 6pm. We have performances by Juliani and Elani. On the decks we will have DJ Adrian and DJ Pinye. We will have Live Crossings with from our Media partners. They are targeting to have children calling everybody they know to raise funds. Venue: Brookhouse School, Old Auditorium. Magadi road off Langata road.
• Endorsement: We have are doing a series of videos from our various supporters. Including members of the Rugby team, Ian Mbugua, John Sibi Okumu and Eric’s Classmates. These videos are available on You Tube Channel and broadcast on KTN and other digital media platforms.
How you can help
To contribute to Save Eric M-PESA Paybill No:700201 Account No:0230265021267101
Create awareness about the situation.
