Humanitarian Mission for Cancer in Chocó

Thousands of families in Chocó have been affected after the earthquake on August 10th. Among them are those facing invisible battles such as those of children fighting cancer. In Chocó, a vulnerable region with high rates of poverty and malnutrition, where access to healthcare, food, and psychosocial services are limited, emergencies and humanitarian needs are a struggle for over 45,000 people who need medical attention.

Children and teens with high-cost diseases such as cancer are among those affected, and their socioeconomic conditions put at risk the continuation of their treatment. 

FUNSEBAS is a foundation created in 2020 that seeks to provide hope and a better quality of life for children with cancer and their families. With presence in Chocó, they work on the ground and identify each child or teen with cancer in the midst of this humanitarian crisis.

FUNSEBAS now seeks to help 30 children and teens who are fighting against cancer in Chocó, are undergoing lengthy high-costs treatments who require strict nutritional guidelines and whose family are in financial need. They seek to provide support to mitigate the risk of interrupting the cancer treatments or to help those who lack the ability to keep going in the middle of humanitarian emergency. With this campaign, FUNSEBAS will focus on the following actions:

• Implement workshops where they identify, classify, and prioritize children with nutritional risks and socioeconomic vulnerability.
• Conduct psychological assessments for the children, their caretaker, and their family to determine their emotional state as well as any academic and social needs.
• Create a classification system on oncological vulnerability based on vicinity to nearby health centers, access to treatment, transportation, nutrition, housing, emotional health, support network, education, and economic ability. These will allow them to act on the most urgent needs.

With $238, FUNSEBAS will be able to support a child with cancer for a month.

To learn more about FUNSEBAS and their initiatives, please click here.