PHOTO CREDIT: Lael Rodrigues
Thank you for helping us tell this story!
Kaique Brito is a student from the Apenas um Filho social project in Sao Paulo. The name of the project means “Just One Child” in English but Kaique is one of over 300 students that call the project home.
Over the years, Apenas um Filho, led by black belt Valmir Silva, has helped countless families, but this year their focus on Kaique.
I admire professor Valmir’s ability to fundraise to meet the needs of the community. But this is a situation that goes way beyond the scope of the average fundraiser.
Kaique is 12 years old and he’s a yellow belt in jiu-jitsu.
He has 7 brothers and sisters, including Ana Carolina who also trains jiu-jitsu.
Kaique has cancer, and his sister had tagged Favela Jiu Jitsu in a post.
They were raffling a jersey to help his family raise money for his treatment and, possibly, for a car to get him safely to and from the hospital.
Their family spends $88 a week on treatment, a high free for a normal family and a nearly impossible one for a family like Kaique’s: 9 people living on 1 salary during a global pandemic.
Minimum wage in Brazil is $213 a month, but Kaique’s monthly expenses are nearly $500.
That’s were the raffles came into play. Professor Valmir and the athletes were used to fundraising for competition expenses, so naturally, they decided to do the same thing in this situation.
Other people like Leal Rodriquez, a blogger from Sao Paulo also joined in the fight.
He produced a 40-minute documentary to help tell Kaique’s story. For Kaique’s Mom, these people are doing God’s work keeping her youngest child in a medical facility far beyond their means.
Now it’s our turn to take over!
Can you imagine trying to raffle of perfume or a signed soccer jersey so you could save your child’s life?
I couldn’t.
So instead of starting a raffle or a traditional fundraising campaign, I picked up an extra job on this weekend, worked two days straight, and that money was enough to pay for a month of Kaique’s cancer treatment.
October is Cancer Awareness month so we paid for Kaique’s treatment this month: $400.
I encourage you all to do the same or at least something similar.
At the end of the month, if we can raise a total of 4,800, then Kaique’s life will no longer be contingent on the number of raffle tickets sold on social media. Help us meet our goal:1 week of treatment ($88)1 month of treatment ($360)
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