How the "Mayrik" Fund got started

When our friend Syu's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer early this year, none of us had heard of the drug "herceptin". After having her breast removed, Syu's mom was prescribed 18 courses of this drug, each capsule costing 3000 dollars in Armenia. The drug is not available through any governmental assistance programs in Armenia and this is not a sum that Syu's family could easily pay for treatment, especially when Syu's mom is the only one in her family currently employed.

After Syu wrote several of her friends messages on Facebook asking for advice and help, we mobilized and created the Mayrik/Mother/Mama group. At the moment there are over 700 people who have joined and a dozen people who are actively seeking to organize different events and ideas for fundraising. We have organized concerts, art exhibits, dinners, performances. We have gone out on the streets to collect signatures from people who believe that laws about health insurance should be overlooked in Armenia. We have written letters to different organizations, people, and groups. We have spoken about this issue in Armenia on TV, written articles for online news sites, told our family and friends.

So far we have raised about 3000 dollars. It has taken us a month. We are continuing our efforts to fund-raise and work towards making some kind of change in women's lives. We believe that it is not just for women to live in a system where they are sick and cannot get the treatment they need because of impossible drug prices and lack of health insurance. Women in Armenia have just as much a right to live as women in France, England, the US, Australia and other countries where "herceptin" has been accepted into health insurance plans. We can all unite to solve this global issue, starting with one woman's life.