CHAMPIONS of Change, a relatively young Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), is seeking the assistance of the public in aiding six-year-old Katara Williams in undergoing emergency eye surgery.

According to Jocelyn Williams, the child’s mother, she first became aware that there was something wrong with Katara’s left eye last December. Turns out the child has a tumour in the eye, which doctors at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) have diagnosed as cancerous.
“I noticed her eyeball was pushing out Christmas Eve of last year. I came off of work, and when I went to collect her from her grandmother, I see her eye looked different; like funny, and I take her to Diamond Hospital,” Katara’s mother said. “But I thought they were moving too slow, so I end up bring she to Georgetown Hospital, and the doctor said there is something behind the eyes,” she told the Guyana Chronicle.

She said that after Katara underwent a ‘head-scan’, the funding of which, in the sum of $170,000, was undertaken by the Ministry of Health and the child’s father, the doctor confirmed that there was a tumour behind her eye, and requested that she undergo a biopsy, the result of which proved that the tumour was malignant. Williams said that having been advised that the cancer is spreading rapidly, and realised that the child has already lost sight in the left eye, she’s left no alternative but to plead with members of the public to render her whatever assistance they can. “I would really be happy for help for Katara, because the tumour is still there and spreading, and the only treatment for it would be abroad,” Ms. Williams said.

Champions of Change President Sabrina Craig says what she likes about Katara is her remarkable resilience; that even though she is in obvious pain, she doesn’t let that get her down. “There is a light about her; she’s strong, and I hope the public is able to help her get the treatment she needs,” she said.
Persons willing to donate to Katara’s cause can make contact with her mother, Ms. Joycelyn Williams on: 630-6805; or with Champions of Change President Ms. Sabrina Craig on: 673-3120.

Champions of Change has been in operation since 2010, and has been instrumental in helping several children to get funding for various medical treatments since its establishment.