Murals (2008) by PHANTAST - Graffiti - Cultural Music & Art Association inc. - 98 Milne St. Benleigh
PROJECT COMPASSION 2016
DOING SOMETHING POSITIVE FOR OTHERS.
One full meal and two small meals a day for Lent.
Flowers in the church.
Self- denial as a means of self-discipline.
The Lent is a good time to look at the dark spots in our lives and see our own need for reform.
To do without material things and put the money value of it aside for poor and needy.
Instead of going out for a meal or buyng a ticket to a show, put the money saved aside to help others.
Speak out for those who don't: sport gear are made in sweated workshops overseas; people must work long hours just to survive.
FACTS:
Worldwide, 1.3 bilion people live in absolute poverty, while the top 5% of the people on the global economic ladder enjoy 60 times the goods and services of the bottom fifth.
An estimated 1 bilion people - one in five persons - do not eat enough to sustain themselves.
13 to 18 million people, mostly children die from hunger and hunger-related causes each year.
One third of the grain grown in the world and half of the fish caught are fed to animals in wealthy countries.
Developing nations owe the world's wealthiest countries $ 1.8 trillion.
Most people in the poor nations of Latin America, Africa and Asia are crowded onto the poorest and most ecologically fragile land .
World population, now 5.7 billion is increasing by 90 million people each year.
Global military expenditures were estimated at $ 767 billon for 1994 (Fr. Kevin Rtan, In the Family).
Dara, their only child, is a bright and happy 6 and a half year old.
About a year ago (March 2015), Dara was diagnosed with cancer (Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma) and she immediately started the chemotherapy treatment at The Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne.
In September 2015, as she turned 6, Dara was in remission.
The happiness, however, did not last long. Three months later, she relapsed and the team at the same hospital under the supervision of Dr. Francoise Mechinaud, Director of the Children's Cancer Centre and her newly assigned doctor, made the decision Dara needed bone marrow transplant, a very difficult procedure, with life-long effects, which will require the complete suppression of her immune system and total isolation in a very sterile environment for the good part of a year following the procedure.
Dara is currently receiving treatment in preparation for bone marrow transplant, which is scheduled for 21st of March 2016.
She has been in hospital more than she has been at home during the past year.
The parents have no extended family in Australia and only a small number of friends to share this burden with. Doliana (Dara's mother) could not work for the last year and she will not be able to work for the foreseeable future. Stefan, her father is still working while he also trying to support them in hospital with food and other necessities, but his leave entitlement is now exhausted and it is expected that he will require extended periods of leave without pay during the next year (assuming this will be an option available to him).
Both the physical and the psychological tolls on the family are impossible to describe and the financial problems are adding more stress.
Dara does not know she has cancer, but some sick little soldiers inside her body and she is not asking questions, although she is now in the ward where, during the previous treatment was told that really sick children need to be.
We are making an appeal for donations to help the family through this unimaginable time in their lives, for the parents to be able to concentrate on supporting Dara and giving her all the care she needs without the added stress of impending financial doom they are currently facing.
The money will go towards bare necessities for the family: food, rent, Dara's needs - books, games, toys, tutoring or entertainment to keep her stimulated and in a positive state of mind. This, in turn, we believe will have a big influence in how she will respond to the treatment.
We have organised other fundraising events, but with a smaller audience. One of them happened on the 6th of March, just before Dara started her treatment at Petty's Orchard in Templestowe, Melbourne. You can find more details about it in the updates we posted after the event.
YOUR MONEY WILL MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN THIS FAMILY'S CURRENT LIFE CIRCUMSTANCES!
Thank you from Dara and the Cucos family!