Help Buy a Vehicle for Lifesaving Cancer Rides

For over 13 years, Manos Unidas por Coatzacoalcos has provided free transportation and comprehensive support to children and adolescents with cancer from vulnerable communities in southern Veracruz, Mexico. Our organization is currently the only nonprofit in the region that offers permanent and continuous transportation assistance specifically focused on pediatric oncology patients.

Every day, families face the difficult reality of traveling long distances to reach public hospitals where children receive chemotherapy, evaluations, laboratory tests, surgeries, and specialized treatments. Many families live in conditions of economic hardship and cannot afford repeated transportation expenses. Without reliable transportation, many children risk missing essential medical appointments, delaying treatment, or abandoning care altogether.

Transportation is not simply a logistical service for our beneficiaries — it is a lifeline that directly impacts treatment continuity, emotional stability, and survival outcomes.

Why Vehicle Renewal Is Critical

Our current transportation vehicle has become increasingly insufficient and vulnerable due to intensive daily use over many years of operation. The vehicle is used continuously from Monday through Friday and frequently on weekends or emergency situations when patients require urgent travel.

During 2025 alone, our organization completed nearly 1,700 patient transportation trips, reflecting the growing demand for our services and the heavy operational burden placed on our current vehicle.

This level of use has generated significant wear and tear, increasing:

• Mechanical failures and maintenance costs
• Risk of unexpected breakdowns during patient transport
• Delays in medical appointments
• Safety concerns for children with compromised immune systems
• Operational interruptions that directly affect vulnerable families

Many of the children we transport are undergoing aggressive cancer treatments that weaken their immune systems and physical condition. For these patients, transportation must not only be available, but also safe, reliable, comfortable, and hygienic.

A vehicle failure can mean much more than an inconvenience. It can represent:

• A missed chemotherapy session
• A postponed medical evaluation
• Additional physical and emotional stress for the child
• Increased financial burden for already vulnerable families
• Greater medical risk due to interrupted treatment schedules

The Growing Demand for Our Services

Over the years, the number of families requesting support has continued to increase. Our organization currently serves patients from multiple municipalities across southern Veracruz, many located several hours away from treatment centers.

In addition to transportation, we provide:

• Food assistance during medical visits
• Emotional accompaniment for children and caregivers
• Recreational and educational activities during waiting periods
• Supportive environments that reduce anxiety and emotional exhaustion
• Assistance with special transportation arrangements by bus or airplane when required

Unlike many organizations that only provide occasional assistance, our transportation support is permanent, structured, and fully subsidized for the families we serve.

Impact of a New Vehicle

The acquisition of a new vehicle would significantly strengthen our operational capacity and directly improve the quality of care we provide. A renewed vehicle would allow us to:

• Ensure uninterrupted transportation for pediatric cancer patients
• Increase transportation safety and reliability
• Reduce costly mechanical repairs and operational downtime
• Expand our capacity to support more families
• Improve comfort for immunocompromised children during long-distance travel
• Maintain punctual attendance to critical medical appointments
• Continue providing dignified and humane care to vulnerable patients

A new vehicle is not simply an operational upgrade — it is an investment in continuity of care, treatment adherence, and hope for children fighting cancer.

Today, nearly 1,700 transportation trips later, our vehicle continues carrying children toward life-saving cancer treatment. But the growing demand and years of intensive use have brought us to a critical moment where renewing our transportation unit is no longer optional — it is essential.

Your support can help ensure that children battling cancer arrive safely, on time, and with dignity to the medical care they urgently need.

By contributing to this project through GlobalGiving you are not simply funding a vehicle. You are helping protect treatment continuity, reducing barriers to healthcare access, easing the emotional burden on vulnerable families, and giving children a greater opportunity to continue fighting for their lives.

Every donation, every share, and every act of support moves us closer to keeping hope in motion for children with cancer in southern Veracruz, Mexico.

Together, we can ensure that transportation never becomes the reason a child misses treatment.

Thank You

On behalf of the children, adolescents, and families supported by Manos Unidas por Coatzacoalcos, we sincerely thank you for considering our request and for believing in the importance of compassionate and accessible healthcare support.

Your generosity and solidarity make it possible for vulnerable children to continue their fight against cancer with dignity, hope, and the opportunity for a better future.

Thank you for becoming part of this mission and for helping us continue changing lives, one journey at a time.