I am blessed and grateful to be a mom. Moreover a mom to healthy kids so I don’t have to worry about saving their lives but instead support them in enjoying life.

Unfortunately, it is not that simple for every parent as many kids are battling a fight for life against cancer.

Each year, an estimated 400,000 children and adolescents worldwide are diagnosed with cancer. 80% of children with cancer live in DEVELOPING nations and about 80% of THESE kids die because they LACK access to prompt, effective diagnoses and treatment. Every THREE minutes, a child with cancer dies. (Sources include WHO & Childhood Cancer International as per kidscancercare.ab.ca).

Last year for my birthday I joined my friend @olya_kudinenko to help such kids in Ukraine, (where I am from). I set a goal to raise 5000 UAH ($215 CAD) and asked my closest people to replace the flowers and chocolates they usually send me with a donation. The campaign overachieved the goal by nearly 2,5 times making it 12,300 UAH ($535 CAD).

It impressed and reassured me that I have a very strong, supportive circle of people for which I am very grateful. So I believe I should set a new goal of 15,000 UAH ($650 CAD).

And this year I would like to extend the invitation beyond my closest people. If you feel like sending me a birthday greeting, please consider making it via the link in the profile heading. And it doesn’t matter whether it is $5 or $50 because for this matter every penny matters.