Saige and Yeni

Saige and Yeni.

Today (originally posted November 6, 2015) was a hard day for Yeni and she was not in good spirits most of the day for obvious reasons. She was admitted to the hospital for an infection which is super dangerous based on her weak immune system.

So the initial prognosis was a 4 day stay in the hospital which would mean missing her big party tomorrow. 😔😔😔. Thankfully though the doctors seem to think she will be able to leave the hospital, if only for a short time, to enjoy the party. We are super excited about the chances of going ahead with the party!! That explains the big smiles in the photo.

This was actually the first time Yeni smiled all day. She had been looking for Saige but she was at school for the first half of the day. After Saige got out of school we explained the situation to her and she immediately said we need to go take Yeni lunch, be with her, and make sure she can still go to her party. Saige also decided to give Yeni a small, portable DVD player that had been given to her as a gift and two new movies so Yeni has something to occupy her mind while in the hospital.

All in all, today was a long, heart wrenching day watching Yeni suffer and not being able to do much more than just be present.

Yeni is a brave young girl fighting a nasty disease and yet still took time today to insist that she could stay at the hospital alone if it meant her younger siblings wouldn't have to be left alone for any amount of time during her treatment.

Being in close proximity to the suffering of kids like Yeni and others we've met this year has really broken my heart in so many ways.

I don't understand the place that suffering of this magnitude has in this world. I don't know what makes one kid out of a family of four have cancer while the other three just watch her suffer.

I only know that we are each placed here on earth to help ease the suffering of others in any way we can. We are here to be the reason someone can smile at the end of a day like this. We are here to love others in the way Jesus would. Fully and without prejudice. We are here to mend the broken hearted and bandage their wounds.

“Compassion without action is merely observation.”

— Javier Mendoza

Connect Global visit to the Honduran Foundation for Kids with Cancer

July Team Member Loren sorting through donations. 

The local office for the Honduran Foundation for Kids with Cancer her in La Ceiba Honduras has become one of our most favorite places to visit and support.

This national organization has plenty of private support from within Honduras and serves their country well. The local office which is run by our friend Tesla Welcher is still in need of basics and standardization but is well on it's way to help this underserved region of Honduras. 

They help several hundred people in a month and that helps can be anything from free access to diagnostics and treatment of all forms of cancer, to providing transportation, meals, and clothing to their patients and families. 

Tesla is the director, fundraiser, administrator, patient coordinator, and many more things.

Tesla Welcher, local director for the Honduran Foundation for Kids with Cancer.

The job we have witnessed her do that truly exemplifies her true value is that of patient caretaker. Seeing her lovingly support the families she serves and hold the crying kids as they receive painful and exhaustive treatment is one of the greatests gifts we have received since being here in Honduras. 

July Team Impact 

Our time at the Cancer Foundation included delivering clothing items, and over 100 pounds of medical supplies.  

We listened to the kids stories about their fight with cancer, and had an opportunity to play with them, and pray for each of their families before the day was over. 

This foundation is a wonderful place to invest time and money. 

To hear Tesla describe the stories of each child in her care is both heart wrenching and inspiring at the same time. To hear how much faith she has in the Foundation's ability to treat these patients while also understanding the devastating effects of cancer is hard to take in. Some have beat cancer and it is a wonderful thing. For those who continue to battle it is a great thing that this Foundation exists. People like Tesla are the reason we come to Honduras and support efforts like this. 

Connect Global Team Members Teri, CJ and Saige organizing medical supplies. 

Connect Global's ongoing commitment

We have committed to Tesla and the local foundation to do whatever is in our power to make her job easier and more efficient. Someone who has this much heart should be supported and given the opportunity to focus on what they are truly gifted to do. 

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Connect Global at The Honduran Foundation for Kids with Cancer

Fundación Hondureña para el Niño con Cáncer

Honduran Foundation for Kids with Cancer

The sole purpose of this foundation is to provide free treatment to over 3000 children in Honduras who are currently battling cancer. Simple. Not Easy. With understaffed hospitals, and a lack of adequate medical supplies, the foundation truly has an uphill battle. They nonetheless spend every day fundraising, and fighting to treat as many children as they can. Once a child is diagnosed with cancer, the foundation is available to them, free of charge, until the battle ends. Everyday, from all across Honduras, parents bring their children to one of the Foundations 7 clinics. 

The Local clinic here in La Ceiba is staffed by ONE individual, Tesla Welcher, who is in charge of scheduling treatments, local fundraising, and any other tasks that come her way. 

One such task was converting her one room clinic into two by creating a wall that would allow the chemo treatments to have their own room separate from other children and their families as they await treatment. She asked CCI Church and Connect Global to help her complete this task. We happily agreed to help her and started work in March. 

Our work crew created a block wall with sliding window panes which will enable the treatments to have their own room which gets this clinic much closer to the high standards that the foundation demands for the children they help. Safety as well as comfort and aesthetics are all of high importance for the foundation. Just because treatments are free to patients does not mean they should receive anything but the best. 

The Connect Global team made final touches to the room by painting and giving the chairs and floors a deep scrubbing. We got the room back up to par just before the week's round of patients came in. Our team was able to share ice cream and playtime with the kids as well as hear the stories of two of the Foundations patients. 

We are so proud of the work that this foundation does and look forward to partnering long-term with Tesla, and the others who work tirelessly furthering the mission.  

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