Saturday 28 December 2013

A kind of Christmas present for Aurela


Aurela mit Teddy auf den Schultern
Aurela  with a teddy
on her shoulders
Not really. Or is it? This time little Aurela will receive Cytarabin, one of the drugs which is used for her monthly maintenance therapy which she will get on January 6th the next time. This gives the two year old suffering from leukaemia time to survive. Time that is used by some people far away from her village of Uglar in Kosovo to enable her to have a life saving stem cell transplantation. 
Schachtel ARA-Cell (Cytarabin)The girl who is usually very cheerful does not know what destructive force, the blood cancer, is working in her little body. She does not know yet why she goes to hospital every four weeks where the staff desperately tries to find a place on her picked all over arms to set an entrance for the infusions necessary for her therapy. 
She runs around and dances again when she has recovered after a few days. However - how long will this last? How long do we have to collect donations and organise a stem cell transplantation for her? The clock is ticking. But the organisation is running. In the background without Aurela knowing about it. A lot happens! 
Of course we still need donations (for more information and donations look here: WLV e.V Aurela )! We have not reached our goal yet. But for now more medication goes on its way to Kosovo which will happen after the Christmas holidays. For Aurela to gain time. Time to live. Hopefully soon for good.  .

Wednesday 18 December 2013

FAQ: About Aurela and the goals of the campaign

1.: Who is Aurela?

Aurela (born on 29. July 2011) is the first born daughter of Kosovare (*1992, born. Zeqiri) and Flamur (*1991) Haliti. She lives with her parents included in a typical Kosovo-Albanian extended family, whose head of family is grandfather Bajram (*1960) in Uglar (close to Gjilan, south of Prishtinë).
She is the darling of the family (besides the week after the chemotherapy) and a real sunshine. Towards strangers she is a little shy though. The family does everything to heal her. 

2.: Provision

Aurela mit ihren Eltern im Oktober 2012
Aurela with her parents in October 2012
The family lives from raising chicken, which was enough before Aurela fell ill. The resources have been used up though through the huge cost of treatment and it also caused an for the situation in Kosovo enormous amount of debts. 
The problem in Kosovo: There is no health insurance neither any other support. All doctors and dentist appointments and stays in hospitals have to be paid in cash. Some of the medication for Aurela can not be bought in Kosovo and is organised in Germany and send to Kosovo by Ulf Hundeiker a friend of the family.  
The therapy currently costs about 800 Euro per month which is four days in hospital plus 5 Euro per day of treatment to get the nurse actually do her job. Yes that's bribing. 

3.: The Illness

Die leukämiekranke Aurela im Krankenhaus
Aurela who suffers from 
leukaemia in hospital
When Aurela was 5 months old (in January 2012) she got more and more ill as well as more severely. In May the children's hospital in Prishtina diagnosed her with acute myelogeneous leukaemia which could not be treated there. They transported her to Tirana, the capital of Albania, where she arrived more dead than alive. She receives now maintenance therapy every four weeks, after an extremely exhausting first chemotherapy then, which she can tolerate much better. 
Since spring 2013 she again gets treatment in Prishtina after a very strange agreement between the government in Kosovo and Albania which means she can not be treated in Tirana anymore. However the situation there was quite horrible anyway. 
Ulf Hundeiker, a friend of one of Aurela's aunts who also lives in Kosovo, got angry about the unfairness and the obvious hopelessness of her situation, when he heard of Aurelas fate and took action. He was informed by Dr. Bardhyl Abrashi, the children's oncologist at the hospital in Prishtina, that her only chance of healing is a stem cell transplantaion. 

4.: The goal of the campaign

Blutprobe von Aurela für die Stammzellenspendersuche
blood sample of Aurela for the
search for a stem cell donator

Aurela is meant to have a stem cell transplantation. For this we need  80.000 Euro (Moscow, Saint Petersburgh) up to 250.000 Euro (hospitals Germany).
The whole campaign is in line with this goal. The donations are only used for this goal. Not even the maintenance chemotherapy which Aurela needs to survive until she can have an operation is paid by the donations. The maintenance chemotherapy is paid for by Ulf Hundeiker and sometimes friends help as well.

5.: Why especially Aurela?

Aurela in der Klinik in Prishtina
Aurela in hospital in Prishtina
Counter question: Why not? Are other children worth more? Or are they a reason not to help? 
Besides: In industrial nations which still have working health systems and health centres which can actually help, a child has a chance to be treated. A stem cell transplantation is not possible in Kosovo because there is no health insurance and everything has to be paid in cash which many do not have. Because a third of the population lives in poverty. There is no other support. 
We might not be able to save the whole world. But a little piece of it. And that is more than nothing.  

6.: How is Aurela treated currently?

6.1: Constant therapy at home:

6.2: Every four weeks while staying in hospital as transfusion

7.: More information

8.: And who is Ulf Hundeiker?

Ulf Hundeiker, born 1972, never wanted to get used to the cruelty of the world but had so far never started any campaign like this. It somehow happened to him as he says. 
WLV-Mitglied und Projektbetreuer Ulf Hundeiker
WLV-member and project manager Ulf Hundeiker
He used to work as a nurse where he had to do more with cancer than anything else before he had to stop working in 2011 due to health issues. The number of patients whom he offered terminal care are in 3 digit numbers. He has never seen death as an enemy. But in this case he considers this differently. He actually (May 2013) works in a dealers workshop for bike carriers.  
He met Mimoza, Aurela's aunt, via his wife. She speaks German as she spend about 5 years in Switzerland during the Kosovo war. He got his information about the situation in Kosovo as well as about Aurela from her. 
He loves music (metal, renaissance, medieaval, jazz, really everything), films ( he is filming a documentary about the Band PORTER (link in German) from Witten, Germany and their new album), photography and literature. He is not usually spontaneous but his life does not care for this currently. And he can be very insistent if he wants to achieve something.

Tuesday 10 December 2013

FAQ: Donations and what they are for

1.: What is the money used for?

The donations are for a stem cell transplantation for Aurela Haliti to save her life this way. The treatment cost which have to be paid in cash are up to 250 000 Euro depending on the country the operation will happen in. 
The journey to Kosovo and everything that was connected with it and the (very expensive) medication for her actual therapy is NOT paid with this money. Ulf Hundeiker does NOT have a holiday there and he can NOT touch this money. He pays and paid for the journey and the medication out of his own pockets. Not that he can really afford this. Sometimes though friends help. 
Blutprobe von Aurela für die Stammzellenspendersuche
blood sample for the search for
stem cell donor for Aurela
Even the search for the "genetic twin" the possible donor of stem cells is not paid from this money. The HLA-tissue typing for Aurela is taken care of by the Stefan-Morsch-Stiftung.

2.: Doesn't the health insurance pay for all this?

There is no health insurance in Kosovo. Everything has to be paid in cash. A few insights into the situation of Kosovo: 

3.:What happens if the money can not be used for Aurela or there is more money?

The money will go with 2/3 to the Stefan-Morsch-Stiftung and 1/3 to the DKMS if there will be more donations or, but we hope this won't happen, Aurela has no chance of survival. 

4.: Is all this respectable?

Filmklappe für das Aurela-Video
clapper board for Aurela video
To doubt the respectability is very in vogue. WorldLifeVision e.V. (link is in German) is a non-profit organisation and the donations are tax deductible (in Germany I am not sure how this works elsewhere) and how the money is used has to be accounted for. This means it is so to say officially respectable.  
Donations ONLY go to this account
World Life Vision e. V. (Gemeinnützig)
Note to payee/ project number : WLV2012-1002
Account: 4740084
Bank code: 83065410
Deutsche Skatbank

For payments from other countries than Germany please use

BIC GENODEF1ALT
IBAN DE68 83065410 0004740084

or to the Paypal-buttons on OUR pages.
If anyone gives you any account other than these it is very likely that he or she wants the money for themselves and it won't help Aurela. Which means: FRAUD! 
If you are still in doubt please contact the Stefan-Morsch-Stiftung and ask Mrs Morsch about Ulf Hundeiker. 

5.: Could you not save more children with less serious illnesses with this money?

Reisepass mit Stempeln des Kosovo
passport with stamps from Kosovo
A lot is possible. But if you ask those, who ask this question, what they are actually doing for all those many children they usually have nothing to say. 
Question: Can you measure a life on the amount of money it needs to be saved? The more expensive the less right to be treated? This kind of measurement is not only wrong but also deeply unethical. Of course you are free to give money to someone or something else if you think like that. But we think this question is just plainly wrong.

Wednesday 4 December 2013

Aurela inbetween chemotherapies

Aurela, who is now two and a half years old, is actually quite a normal child inbetween chemotherapies which she gets every four weeks. She talks constantly and her vocabulary grows daily.
Aurela auf der Schaukel
Aurela on a swing
She laughs a lot and dances happily to music when she has recovered from those four exhausting days in the children's hospital in the capital Prishtina. She switches on the tv herself if necessary and even finds the music channel! 
She also loves to talk on the phone preferably with Mimoza, Ulf's German speaking contact person in Kosovo. Really a quite normal, cheerful child -

if there would not be the leukaemia for which she gets treated since two years which is actually nearly all her short life. Right now it is ok with her after she just about cheated death two years ago.  
But the only real chance to heal the leukaemia fully is a stem cell transplantation. This can not be done in Kosovo especially as it is extraordinarily expensive: In Germany for example such an operation would cost up to 250.000 Euro!
Even the running treatment is not easy to ensure. Some medication is not available in Kosovo. These are bought by Ulf Hundeiker the project "manager" in Germany and he organises their transport to Kosovo as well. But the rest needs paying too and that has to be in cash as there is no health insurance in this still destroyed country. 
The Haliti's, her family, is highly in debt because of that but there is nothing too hard to bear for them for little Aurela. But to raise a quarter of a million is absolutely not possible. That is why we fundraise. For that Aurela can laugh happily when she will be grown up.

IF.

Project information
Donations
Film about Aurela (Please enable subtitles for English translation)

Tuesday 26 November 2013

Press release 18.11.2013: New medication for Aurela ~ Dosages increased

This entry was first published in German on the World Life Vision e.V. Blog by Ulf Hundeiker

"Ulf Hundeiker is just back from Düsseldorf where he posted medication for nearly 190 Euro to Prishtina.
Aurelas Medikamente (Mercaptopurin)
Aurelas medication (Mercaptopurin)
photo credit: Ulf Hundeiker
The little Balkan country is still on its knees even 14 years after the official end of the war in Kosovo and five years after Germany and the UK amongst others have recognised the country. No real welfare system exists nor is a health insurance available.  
“The latter is a big problem - in this case for Aurela!" says Ulf Hundeiker. Because the by now 2 year old girl from Kosovo suffers from leukaemia. And only a stem cell transplantation can heal the girl fully. "I fundraise since a while on the account of the non-profit organisation World Life Vision as the transplantation would cost up to 250.000 Euro and Aurela's parents are, like most people in Kosovo, not rich." as the 41 year- old from Muenster, Germany says. 
The Haliti family has to raise all funds for her therapy and is because of this already highly in debt. "Some of the drugs for the maintenance chemotherapy is not available in Kosovo. I buy those here mostly out of my own pockets." This time friends have helped him though, as the former nurse who can not work in his profession anymore for health reasons is not rich either. Particularly as the dosage for the just send Mercaptopurin just had to be doubled. Which means double costs: “187,34 Euro for the next three months. The donations are for the stem cell transplantation. I have paid for both journeys to Kosovo and what comes with it myself."
Aurela mit Teddy auf den Schultern
Aurela with a teddy on
her shoulders
photo credit: Ulf Hundeiker
By now there have been donations of more than 17.000 Euro - but the goal - to save Aurela's life, is still far away. All her younng parents Kosovare and Flamur Haliti's hopes lay on him.  
“I won't give up! Every life is worth to fight for it!" 
Info: 

Donations Account:
World Life Vision e. V. (gemeinnützig)
Account Number 4740084
Bank code 830 654 10
Deutsche Skatbank
BIC GENODEF1ALT
IBAN DE68 83065410 0004740084"

Wednesday 13 November 2013

The long way: A book by Kerstin Ludwig. To save Aurela's life

This entry was first posted in German on the World Life Vision e.V. Blog on July 28th 2013. The book is only available in German.



" This is the introduction to the book which Kerstin offers to download for free but asks for a donation for Aurela's stem cell transplantation. This is used instead of an article about the book:


"Life is fragile. People can have accidents, others might be out to get their life - and sometimes people just get ill.

Our medicine has come far. Many illnesses can be healed today. Cancer does not automatically mean a death sentence anymore thanks to therapy and medication.

But there are parts of the world where people just have enough to survive. Where there is no health insurance. Where "cancer" still is a death sentence because no one can afford the therapy or medication. There the line between death and life has to do with how much you can afford and not how easily the illness can be treated.

This is even harder if it hits a child that hardly had time to live.

Aurela is one of those children. Not even two years old her life is threatened to end before it even started. Aurela suffers from AML: Acute Myelogenous Leukaemia in children. This illness is easy to to treat but the costs are so exorbitantly high that her family just can not afford it. They live in Kosovo beneath the poverty line and do not have insurance that could pay for the costs. They are already highly in debt.  

You can find more information about Aurela here:
http://www.worldlifevision.org/index.php/WLV2012-1002

There might be many children out there like Aurela. And I surely can not save all of them. But I want to try to save this one. 

I do not have the money to give Aurela the chance to a life in health. But I have this book. I have written these stories with the help of the readers of my blog for a project for Christmas. The readers gave me keywords and I made stories out of them. This is a community project. Without those keywords, which are sometimes quite unusual, I could not have done this.

This lead to small or bigger stories which have a central theme and are a mirror of the readers of my blog as well as myself. In a way this book is a little like me: chaotic, creative, certainly not normal, but I do not want to be normal anyway.
The keywords are put in front of every story - which means it also became a little "spot the keyword" game: Did I really manage to make a story of every keyword? On top of that I used stories that have not been published on my blog. There are no keywords for those. They are just there and stand for themselves.

If you read this you probably have downloaded the book via one of the publishers and I thank you for the time you are taking to follow my thoughts. You have seen that this book is available for free.

The only thing I ask for is a donation for Aurela. I do not want any money I get along. But this child and many others do not.

I hope the money helps another World Life Vision project if it should not be possible to save this child. My "thank you" goes to Ulf Hundeiker, who gave me the idea for these stories with his aid project. 

Ulf you are the greatest. Even though you do not want to believe this.

Donations:
World Life Vision e. V. (Gemeinnützig)
Note to payee/project number: WLV2012-1002
Account: 4740084
Bank code: 83065410
Deutsche Skatbank


payments from other countries than Germany please use

BIC GENODEF1ALT
IBAN DE68 83065410 0004740084


download:

.mobi (Amazon-Kindle-compatible)
.epub
.pdf "

Tuesday 5 November 2013

New Donations for Aurela

This entry was first posted on 1st August 2013 on the German WorldLifeVision e.V. Aurela blog:

"Today we have received a donation of 1000 Euro! A big thank you to the generous donors. With this the amount of donations has risen to 16.000 Euro. You can find the exact amount on the bottom of the project page.  And again a HUGE thank you to all of you who have given small or big amounts and have helped with lots of other activities that we could collect so much. Please do go on helping in this way and if you can not give any money any mentions, posts and other publicity does help a lot as well so that we soon will have the amount to afford the stem cell transplantation for Aurela. Project Aurela: http://www.worldlifevision.org/index.php/WLV2012-1002 "

Sunday 3 November 2013

Big and small donation

This entry was first posted on August 18th 2013 on the German Aurela Blog

Two weeks ago two big donations arrived: a young woman had collected 500 Euro in her circle of friends and family and another person was so touched that she or he gave 1000 Euro. There are also countless smaller donations for which we are very grateful as every penny counts. 
Since yesterday the amount of donations is 16 604,72 Euro. Not bad for a campaign with practically no recourses! But the truth still is: We need more. More donations and more people who motivate others to donate as well. Because a stem cell transplantation costs in Russia about 80.000, and in Germany about 250 000 Euro.
And Aurela wants to live! She wants to meet her little sibling which is on its way. And her family just wants a happy family life

Thursday 31 October 2013

Aurela: A new delivery of medication

(first posted 30th August 2013 on German blog)
Besides her monthly chemotherapy in hospital little Aurela also has to take cytostatic drugs daily against her acute myeoletic leukaemia which are in tablet form. Unfortunately some of those drugs can not be bought in Kosovo so they have to be purchased in Germany and then send to Kosovo. 
Packung Puri-Nethol (Mercaptopurin)
Puri-Nethol (Mercaptopurin)
This medication is expensive but this time Ulf Hundeiker has some help as he received a donation via post exactly for the purpose of sending medication to Aurela (Thanks very much!) and the tabletts were re-imported and therefore cheaper. With the help of friends they will be transported to Kosovo to the capital Prishtinë where they will be picked up. 
Seventy-one Euro for 25 tablets but as Aurela is still little she only gets a quarter so they last for three months. Then the same starts again. 
But those drugs are important as obviously Aurela has to survive until she can receive the stem cell transplantation for being healed for good. So far 16.600 Euro have been donated but we need much more. That is why the call for donations still is up-to-date. 

Wednesday 30 October 2013

Nothing is good, unless good is done

Erich Kästner was right with this sentence. Because so often, when  many quarrel about the right way to help or if it is right to help at all, nothing happens. Lots of talk and no action.
It is not difficult though. Because you can help little Aurela (and others of course as well) with donating money or your time and online presence to spread the message. 
Aurela who suffers from leukeamia in summer 2013
Aurela who suffers from leukeamia
in summer 2013

Aurela, who looks so cheerful in this picture, is just gone back to the children's hopsital in Prishtinë due to a lung infection. She was quite stabil in the last few months. But the only thing that could help her in the long run is a stem cell transplantation which is not possible in Kosovo and with 80.000 to 250.000 Euro somewhere else far too expensive. Especially as there is no health insurance in Kosovo which could pay for it.
The running costs for chemotherapy to keep her state as it is and all other therapeutic and diagnostic procedures, has to be paid by her already highly in debt (due to costs of illness of Aurela) family. The donated money, by now 17314,60 Euro, is only for the stem cell transplantation. A suitable donator is already searched for with a blood sample which was organised via a privately paid for journey to Kosovo. From a person who rather does than talks. 
What is still missing is money. And people who help to come by it. 

Wednesday 19 June 2013

FAQ: How can I help Aurela?

FAQ:How can I help Aurela?

Aurela and Kosovare Haliti
Aurela and hermother Kosovare Haliti
photo credit: Ulf Hundeiker

Suddenly the numbers of visitors of all Aurela pages jump sky high. Suddenly there are many inquiries, how you can help the project, to make a stem cell transplantation possible for Aurela, to save her from sure death due to leukemia. What can you do?
For example:

1.: Donate

The project needs up to 250.000 Euro. The newest amount is stated on the project page where you can also find account information and a PayPal-Button.
A donation does not have to be huge: Do without chocolate or a beer at the pub once or twice and give the money to Please help Aurela. There would be over 80 Million if every inhabitant of Germany would only give 1 euro!

Aurela Haliti
Little Aurela in Hospital
photo credit: Ulf Hundeiker

2.: spread the word on-line

Not everybody has a lot of money but everybody knows other people, whom he or she could tell about the project. You can talk about it in ones circle of friends, but also on blogs and social networks to make the project known: for example with the Facebookpage (in German). News about Aurela are shared via this (and via Twitter of course as well and may be by you too!)  
Aurela who suffers from leukemia in hospital in Prishtina
You can also write appropriate blog entries and share them via Facebook, Google+, Twitter ect. You can find a collection of informative blog entries on the “Projektinformationen“ (“project information/German). You can find a list of constantly updated articles on the net here: ständig aktualisierte Sammlung (“constantly updated collection” page in German but features both German and English posts on the private blog of initiator of the project, Ulf Hundeiker. Who bloggs about it maybe more than once should tell me about it that it can be incorporated.
Eg. you could write about:
How have I and how do I support Aurela?
Why do I do this?
Why do I think you should support the project?


3.: Share Offline
newspaper article in Westfaelische
Nachrichten ob March 24th 2013


Which means: publicity via newspapers and other media, start and cultivate contacts to individuals and organisations who could help. You can find tips how to write a press release here: “Projektinformationen“. (Added by translator: you can find a page in English about how to write a press release here: http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Press-Release this is not related to the "Please help Aurela" project directly)

Article in Westfaelische Nachrichten Muenster (WN, Münster, 24. March 2013)
You need a local connection if you want to have an article published in local news papers. If Ulf Hundeiker from Muenster sends a press release to a news paper in Kassel nothing will happen. It works better if someone from Kassel sends one. It might happen that you will get invited by the editorial office. You need to be well informed! Have a look at Please help Aurela for information in English language. Ulf is happy to help. You can contact him via ulf@hundeiker.de

It is always good to know whom you can contact but it is a lot better if you can come along with a contact that has already been made.
What else has happened: Artists have given their royalties, musician’s fees for the project or have done a kind of “Aurela-addition” on tickets for their concerts. They are not famous but anyhow!

4.:This does not make a lot of sense:

To say you would help but then not go on with it. This is really frustrating for the initiator of the project ~ you raise hopes but then get disappointed. It is ok if you do not have the time or the nerves to do it or just do not like to do it. But it saves time and energy if you think about this beforehand.

5.: It is better,

to think about your own motivation first or to see if you still have questions. It is important to know: No one has to take part. But the project should be able to rely on those who want to help. But everybody can decide for him or herself how and how much he or she wants to help.

6.: Stay active!


Of course information and tips are always welcome! But it is much better if you have already done something in this way. It helps so much to have the work shared. Mostly as a day only has 24 hours.


For example: fundraise for the project, write blog entries or send press releases.
For example: Help to find a hospital which is cheaper or might help for free in another country with your knowledge of countries and knowledge of their languages.
For example: organise collections or fund-raisers, publish books (really!) or whatever you might think of. You have to blow your own trumpet! Publicity is so important. As many people as possible need to know about this story, that they are able to donate or even help.

Sunday 2 June 2013

Aurela: No VIP support....

This entry was first published on the World Life Vision blog in German:
"No VIP Support but: Please help Aurela!
It was announced that Anglina Jolie's aunt has lost her fight with cancer aged 61. 
We however need help, that a not even two year old unsung girl does NOT lose her fight. Because little Aurela Haliti from Uglar close to Gjilan in Kosovo has no famous or rich relatives who could pay for her treatment. 
She only has a family, who loves her above all and hopes against all odds, that the little girl will be healed. And friends from Germany, try to help to make this possible. 
Aurela und ihre Mutter Kosovare
Aurela und ihre Mutter Kosovare
But this only works if she can get a stem cell transplantation, which costs a fortune. You can not get it for free. There are no partners availlable at aid organisations or others willing to support them. We need people to help. People who can activate other people. 
Because Aurela's last name is Haliti. And not Jolie, Pitt, Minogue or Windsor. 
Aurela need US!"

Please also watch the video about Aurela and her family at the top right side of this blog. Please activate the subtitles to see the English translation. Thanks!

Saturday 1 June 2013

We need you: Please help Aurela

This blog is about little Aurela Haliti who suffers from leukemia and needs a stem cell transplantation to survive.

Ulf Hundeiker from Muenster, Germany has founded the fundraising project "Please help Aurela" to raise between 80 000 and 250 000 Euro to allow her to have the operation done outside Kosovo where she lives with her family. There is no health insurance in Kosovo or a hospital which could do the operation.

She actually undergoes chemotherapy to save her life which he supports out of his own pockets. World Life Vision provides the fundraising account where so far 12 452,75 Euro (at 5. April 2013) have been raised. This amount will only be used for hospital and treatment cost, journey and accomodation for Aurela and her mother.

We need your help

~ to spread the word ( social networks, blogs, emails, talk to friends....) 
~ to raise more money (Donations at World Life Vision)
~ to find stem cell donors ( Stefan Morsch Stiftung)
~ to find a hospital which could do the operation

Ulf Hundeiker blogs about Aurela on the World Life Vision blog in German and I translate the posts on this blog.

You can find blog posts so far translated (and some just written in English) and blogged on different blogs here:

please enable subtitles to read English transciption
video credit: Ulf Hundeiker via YouTube