A desperate request for help
Hi, folks,
Ok, so this is a desperate and shameless cry for help.
A friend of mine, Nela, from Montenegro (she was one of our interpreters, and has worked for the OSCE, among other organizations, many times in the area; very sweet, very smart, and we've kept in touch closely since 2006, when I monitored their Referendum there in Nikšić), has a 13-year-old cousin, Luka, who has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (http://www.mskcc.org/mskcc/html/5427.cfm?utm_source=AdWords -- sorry, I still can't manage to figure out how to insert a link here any other way).
He has been transferred from Childrens' Hospital in Podgorica, Montenegro to the Mother and Child Institute in Belgrade, Serbia (a 1 hour flight, or a 10-hour car ride, away -- it's 473 miles from PG to BG). The Institute in Belgrade can't perform the bone marrow transplant that Luka needs, so he needs to be sent to a specialized hospital in Frankfurt, Germany.
The estimated cost of his (and his parents') travel, accommodations, plus the surgery and the donor's surgery is roughly €300,000 (which, at this morning's exchange rate, is roughly $434,972.41 USD -- I do my currency conversions at www.xe.com).
To put this massive amount, even by our standards, into perspective, it's important to note that the average GDP in Montenegro, as of 2005 estimates by the CIA (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mj.html#Econ), is $3,800 US Dollars. Now, I have no idea what Nela's Aunt does for a living, but I'm pretty positive she doesn't make enough to cover this operation anytime in the next 20 years.
She's sent me a letter to edit for grammar, which she's planning to send to any foundations she can think of that offer assistance in these types of cases.
If any of you happen to know of any organizations that would help in this situation, please, PLEASE let me know. I'll email her anything you and I find.
She's also requesting donations, although I have no idea how that's going to work out; it's hard these days to generate genuine interest and a genuine response, because so many emails have gone around soliciting money and support for kids who don't exist, or for kids with diseases they don't really have; too many people have cried wolf to make a genuine case like this one seem legitimate.
If you can help in any way -- information, referrals, donations, ANYTHING -- please let me know.
Thanks so much,
Chris