Mend Sweet Caroline's Broken Heart
Donation protected
Sweet Caroline Mwende is a nine-year-old Kenyan girl in desperate need of heart surgery to repair a congenital heart defect. Diagnosed with the complex heart defect* at age four, Caroline’s loving family has been financially unable to afford the surgery. It cannot be performed in Kenya due to a lack of expertise and equipment and she must therefore travel to India for the surgery.
My son, Dylan, met Caroline last summer while volunteering at the Candlelight School** in the Matopeni slums of Nairobi, Kenya. As one of his pupils, my son describes her as intelligent, quiet and reserved. Despite being easily fatigued and often short of breath, she is resilient and attends school with the dream of someday becoming a pediatric doctor herself. Dylan was moved by her plight and took the time before he left to interview Caroline and her mother, gather copies of her medical paperwork and take pictures and video of her. Our goal, and the reason for this GoFundMe page, is to help her family raise the funds to obtain the life-saving surgery that she needs.
But time is of the essence for Caroline. As she approaches puberty, her heart is increasingly unable to pump enough blood to support her growing body and she is suffering worsening fatigue, chest pain, fainting spells, and frequent respiratory illnesses. To be blunt, every growth spurt brings Caroline one step closer to death. While it may take a village to raise a child, it will truly take the support of an international village to save Caroline’s life.
With the tireless support and coordination in Nairobi of the Candlelight Ministries pastor and his wife, Fred and Alice Afwai, we sent countless e-mails, texts and Facebook messages to various charities, foundations and hospitals to try and enlist their help. A U.K. based charity organization called Healing Little Hearts (HLH) responded to us! This wonderful organization provides free cardiac surgeries to children in developing countries. After reviewing all of her medical records, Dr. Salim Jivanji of HLH determined that his organization would not be able to perform her surgery in Kenya due to its complexity and the lack of medical equipment necessary to safely perform her procedure. However, Dr. Jivanji located a hospital and surgeon in Coimbatore, India, that is willing to do the surgery. A volunteer medical coordinator in Nairobi has been assisting Caroline and her family in applying for her passport, visa, and all the other complex paperwork she and her mother, Faith, need to be able to travel to India. Now that we have confirmed the hospital, the surgery, the costs and she has been granted the medical clearance to fly, we are quickly hoping to raise the balance of the monies to save Caroline’s life.
Caroline’s family has managed to raise Ksh 90,000 or $900 towards airfare. The Kenyan National Health Insurance Fund will pay for the surgery (approximately $5,000). Polio and yellow fever vaccines were paid by an anonymous donor.
But we must raise an additional $2580 in order to save Caroline’s life. This fundraising goal amount will cover the following expenses:
*Passports for Caroline and her mother: Ksh 15,000 = $150 *Travel visas for Caroline and her mother: Ksh 22,000 = $220 *Round trip airfare: Ksh 115,500 for Faith; Ksh 95,900 for Caroline = $2100 total *Travel insurance for both Caroline and her mother: Ksh 11,000= $110 (return date must be flexible)
It is our ambitious hope to raise these monies within a week as the Sri Ramakrishna Hospital in Coimbatore, India, is prepared to do the surgery immediately. Please consider donating to help save Caroline’s life and allow her to dream of a future.
We would also be very appreciative if you would forward this appeal on your social media to help us achieve our fundraising goal.
Thank you.
*Caroline has Tetralogy of Fallot, which is a rare condition caused by a combination of four congenital heart defects. These defects, which affect the structure of the heart, cause oxygen-poor blood to flow out of the heart and to the rest of the body. She also has congenital left pulmonary agenesis, a defect which reduces the blood flow to the lungs.
**Caroline is a student at the Candlelight School in Nairobi—a Candlelight Ministries program affiliated with Sahaya International , a USA-based 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports healthcare, education, environmental and socio-economic grassroots programs in developing countries.
Caroline’s parents have given us full permission to tell her story, fund raise on her behalf and share any information necessary to raise the monies to save her life. If you would like more specific information about Caroline or the organizations supporting this endeavor, please contact us.
My son, Dylan, met Caroline last summer while volunteering at the Candlelight School** in the Matopeni slums of Nairobi, Kenya. As one of his pupils, my son describes her as intelligent, quiet and reserved. Despite being easily fatigued and often short of breath, she is resilient and attends school with the dream of someday becoming a pediatric doctor herself. Dylan was moved by her plight and took the time before he left to interview Caroline and her mother, gather copies of her medical paperwork and take pictures and video of her. Our goal, and the reason for this GoFundMe page, is to help her family raise the funds to obtain the life-saving surgery that she needs.
But time is of the essence for Caroline. As she approaches puberty, her heart is increasingly unable to pump enough blood to support her growing body and she is suffering worsening fatigue, chest pain, fainting spells, and frequent respiratory illnesses. To be blunt, every growth spurt brings Caroline one step closer to death. While it may take a village to raise a child, it will truly take the support of an international village to save Caroline’s life.
With the tireless support and coordination in Nairobi of the Candlelight Ministries pastor and his wife, Fred and Alice Afwai, we sent countless e-mails, texts and Facebook messages to various charities, foundations and hospitals to try and enlist their help. A U.K. based charity organization called Healing Little Hearts (HLH) responded to us! This wonderful organization provides free cardiac surgeries to children in developing countries. After reviewing all of her medical records, Dr. Salim Jivanji of HLH determined that his organization would not be able to perform her surgery in Kenya due to its complexity and the lack of medical equipment necessary to safely perform her procedure. However, Dr. Jivanji located a hospital and surgeon in Coimbatore, India, that is willing to do the surgery. A volunteer medical coordinator in Nairobi has been assisting Caroline and her family in applying for her passport, visa, and all the other complex paperwork she and her mother, Faith, need to be able to travel to India. Now that we have confirmed the hospital, the surgery, the costs and she has been granted the medical clearance to fly, we are quickly hoping to raise the balance of the monies to save Caroline’s life.
Caroline’s family has managed to raise Ksh 90,000 or $900 towards airfare. The Kenyan National Health Insurance Fund will pay for the surgery (approximately $5,000). Polio and yellow fever vaccines were paid by an anonymous donor.
But we must raise an additional $2580 in order to save Caroline’s life. This fundraising goal amount will cover the following expenses:
*Passports for Caroline and her mother: Ksh 15,000 = $150 *Travel visas for Caroline and her mother: Ksh 22,000 = $220 *Round trip airfare: Ksh 115,500 for Faith; Ksh 95,900 for Caroline = $2100 total *Travel insurance for both Caroline and her mother: Ksh 11,000= $110 (return date must be flexible)
It is our ambitious hope to raise these monies within a week as the Sri Ramakrishna Hospital in Coimbatore, India, is prepared to do the surgery immediately. Please consider donating to help save Caroline’s life and allow her to dream of a future.
We would also be very appreciative if you would forward this appeal on your social media to help us achieve our fundraising goal.
Thank you.
*Caroline has Tetralogy of Fallot, which is a rare condition caused by a combination of four congenital heart defects. These defects, which affect the structure of the heart, cause oxygen-poor blood to flow out of the heart and to the rest of the body. She also has congenital left pulmonary agenesis, a defect which reduces the blood flow to the lungs.
**Caroline is a student at the Candlelight School in Nairobi—a Candlelight Ministries program affiliated with Sahaya International , a USA-based 501(c)3 nonprofit that supports healthcare, education, environmental and socio-economic grassroots programs in developing countries.
Caroline’s parents have given us full permission to tell her story, fund raise on her behalf and share any information necessary to raise the monies to save her life. If you would like more specific information about Caroline or the organizations supporting this endeavor, please contact us.
Organizer
Laurie Wedra
Organizer
Davis, CA