It's looking like I'll need to fundraise another $3,000CAD for César's child, who needs oxygen for another month of recovery from double-lung pneumonia before insurance kicks in. I've been fortunate to have folks who know me helping out, but I fear I need more hands on deck.
Can you help? Can you spread this ask to someone who can? I can't use the usual fundraisers due to regional zoning. I have PayPal via https://ko-fi.com/mlclarkwriter. Can I offer you MS feedback? Proofing? Market recs? Let me know.
This morning I'm 1/6th of the way to this urgent goal: $503 of $3000CAD for oxygen for a child still recovering from pneumonia, his lungs having undergone three surgeries & three rounds of stem cell therapy, & his levels of bacterial infection low but not gone. Pneumonia is the world's number one killer of children under five; thank you to everyone who donated and helped him turn five on January 31. This is the last hurdle. Please spread my ask if you can. #CoSoMutualAid
ko-fi.com/mlclarkwriter
@MLClark Are there other funds being raised for this, and who are the fund-raisers?
@MisterE The fundraisers are you folks, folks on Twitter, folks on Mastodon, and friends who know me offline. I sorely, sorely, sorely wish there were other sources to turn to, but here in Colombia there aren't many options for folks who aren't affiliated under health insurance. I've been the family's only lifeline this past month. Very frustrating. Not a situation I'd planned to have consume my life - but it's *almost* over. Final hurdle is oxygen until he's covered under his dad's work health.
@MisterE I know I can't use GoFundMe and the like because my living location conflicts with rules about starting an account. Are you saying that those rules don't apply on this site?
@MLClark Yeah. Good luck.
@MLClark I forgot to ask:
Have you gone through the Catholic church to see about help?
@MisterE Me, personally? No.
César has asked his community *and* a woman who works at the clinic where his son had his third surgery promised to try to do fundraising - but she never followed through, and his local church donations from mass for the rest of this process were piddling, because the congregation is poor. His church itself didn't have any funds on offer for any step in this process. (There's a lot of need here. Not surprising.)
@MisterE I appreciate the thought behind your questions, MisterE - so here's a laugh for you from GoGetFunding's restrictions page. I'm still trying to figure out if their payment system, MangoPay, will grant me access. (Most majors, like Stripe, do not work with Colombia, even though my bank account is Canadian.)
@MisterE Thanks, MisterE! *So far* I haven't been blocked from GoGetFunding - the campaign is pending review, but it linked up with PayPal no problem, and I didn't see any other regional restrictions that could be grounds for them deleting the campaign (as is the case on North American sites). So, much obliged for your help! If it goes live, this will help a lot. Cheers!
@MLClark Excellent! Best to you.
@MisterE I'm fully aware of mainstream fundraising options. I used a Colombian-based one in pandemic to help another family, and the problem with that system is that it was set up for Colombian donors - North American donors kept having trouble navigating the site, because our payment systems are different. Trust me: I've been through this before. Cheers.