By Sarah Becklake | Intern Development Officer
Dear Friend,
WINGS is excited to have been invited to participate in GlobalGiving’s last matching challenge of the year. This is the perfect opportunity to make your generous donation go further in support of WINGS’ efforts to provide Guatemalan women with cervical cancer detection and treatment services.
Here’s how it works: for every donation that you make to our cervical cancer project, http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/detect-and-treat-cervical-cancer-in-guatemala/, between TODAY and October 21st, GlobalGiving will match your donation by 30, 40 or 50% - the larger the donation the greater the matching amount! If we raise the most donations we are eligible for a bonus award of $1,000.
Making a donation to WINGS’ Cervical Cancer Detection and Treatment Program will help save lives. Of all new cases of cervical cancer, 80% occur in developing countries where effective screening programs are lacking. Amongst developing countries, the rates are highest in Sub-Saharan Africa and Central America. Given the lack of an adequate government plan, few Guatemala women have ever been screened for cervical cancer. As a result, cervical cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths among Guatemalan women of reproductive age, killing more women than breast, skin, ovarian and stomach cancers combined. This is extremely tragic, especially given the fact that, when caught early, cervical cancer is highly treatable.
WINGS plays an important role in bringing cervical cancer detection and treatment services to rural and underserved communities. Through the use of mobile clinics, WINGS gives women, many of whom have never been screened before, a chance to take charge of their reproductive health. WINGS is one of the only organizations in Guatemala to use the “see and treat” method (also known as VIA/Cryo) which allows for same-day detection, and in the majority of cases, treatment of precancerous cells. This method is especially effective for women in rural and underserved communities, who often have difficulty attending follow-up clinics.
Just one of WINGS’ success stories is Blanca, a cervical cancer survivor and mother of five. Three years ago, when Blanca visited a WINGS clinic, a WINGS nurse discovered that Blanca had advanced stages of cervical cancer and referred her to the National Cancer Institute of Guatemala, where WINGS helped subsidize the cost of her surgery and follow-up treatment. It is because Blanca visited one of WINGS’ clinics that she is alive and healthy today. In speaking with Blanca, she says that her only regret is that her mother, who died at the age of 45 from cervical cancer, did not have access to such services.
You can help ensure that WINGS can continue to provide life-saving services to women like Blanca TODAY by participating in GlobalGivings’ Give More, Get More Challenge. A donation of just $50 will be matched at 30% and cover the cost of detection and treatment services for 4 women. To further your support, ask your friends and family to visit our GlobalGiving project at http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/detect-and-treat-cervical-cancer-in-guatemala/
Thank you for supporting WINGS and for helping to improve the lives of women in Guatemala.
Sincerely,
The WINGS Team
P.S. To see where WINGS ranks in the competition, click here.
By Sarah Becklake | Intern Development Officer
By Danny Kaufman | Development Officer, WINGS
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