International Women’s Day 2017: Save Lives, Provide Compassionate Care to Women in Honduras with Cancer
COCONUT CREEK, Fla. (March 1, 2017) A cancer diagnosis can be terrifying enough. But imagine not having access to medicines and medical care to fight the disease or provide comfort from the pain.
That’s the reality for many poor women in Honduras who already cannot afford the basic necessities of life.
On International Women’s Day, which is March 8, generous donors can be a blessing to these women and others like them by giving to Food For The Poor and the Ribbons of Love Cancer Treatment Program for women in Honduras.
Ribbons of Love was started in January 2015 by CEPUDO, Food For the Poor’s in-country partner in Honduras. So far, the program has provided cancer treatment to more than 60 women.
Many patients sell everything they own to afford their medicines and often go without food. Despite these efforts, they often fall short.
Ribbons of Love has provided hope for the future for women like Leticia, 51.
“I had no hope. The doctors gave me no hope. They gave me three months to live, unless I could get chemo,” said Leticia. “I’ve lived for a year.”
The government of Honduras has a limited capacity to provide adequate care to women who have cancer.
Ribbons of Love volunteers raise funds through various activities from raffles to bingo nights to restaurant promotions. But due to the high poverty rate in Honduras, Ribbons of Love is limited as to how much it can raise locally.
Food For The Poor hopes to raise enough funds to benefit 130 patients in need of treatment. For a fraction of the hundreds of thousands of dollars these treatments would cost in the United States, donors can save the life of a woman who’s been diagnosed with this tragic disease, provide access to quality healthcare and help them live productive, healthy lives.
Ribbons of Love has formed agreements with Honduras’ second largest hospital, Mario Catarino Rivas, as well as La Liga Contra Cancer (League Against Cancer) to provide treatment at a heavily discounted rate.
Thanks to compassionate donors, women will have access to mammography, ultrasounds and scans; surgery including biopsies, lumpectomies and mastectomies; and other treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Women also will be provided with monthly care packages, which include rice and beans, clothes, toiletries and other essentials.
“Medical care and treatment is often minimal or underfunded in the countries we serve; we are so very thankful to get these lifesaving donations,” said Angel Aloma, Executive Director of Food For The Poor. “This is a gift that will make a world of a difference in the lives of the women living with cancer. We are grateful.”
To donate to the Ribbons of Love project, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.com/iwd.
Food For The Poor, one of the largest international relief and development organizations in the nation, does much more than feed millions of the hungry poor primarily in 17 countries of the Caribbean and Latin America. This interdenominational Christian ministry provides emergency relief assistance, clean water, medicines, educational materials, homes, support for orphans and the aged, skills training and micro-enterprise development assistance. Over the last 10 years, fundraising and other administrative costs averaged less than 5% of our expenses; more than 95% of all donations went directly to programs that help the poor. For more information, please visit www.FoodForThePoor.org.
Michael Turnbell
Public Relations
954-427-2222 x 6054
[email protected]
