‘They said it was an allergy, then conjunctivitis until the little eye sprouted. There they knew it was cancer,’ says the mother of a girl staying in a shelter that works in the home of soccer player Cristhian Noboa

Diana plays together with other children as if nothing happened. She laughs and asks another child to pass her a toy. She is 6 years old and has a normal build for her age. However, when seeing her a white patch stands out on the face. She has a malignant tumor in her left eye.. This pathology is the sixth type of cancer that affects girls who are treated at Solca Guayaquil.

After taking the toy, the girl goes and hugs her “mom”, Luisa Shingri, who is really her grandmother. They live in Pasaje, El Oro, but come to Guayaquil to treat cancer. Between tears Luisa comments that Diana’s cancer is terminal and that they removed her left eye to prolong her life. The girl had an implant placed, but the cancer is so aggressive that it caused Diana’s body to reject the prosthesis and the tumor re-formed.

“In June of last year she was diagnosed (2021). She appeared as an allergy, they sent her drips, but she didn’t get it. Then they said it was conjunctivitis, but then her little eye sprouted. As in Machala there is no aid to treat cancer in children, the Ministry of Public Health gave us the transfer to Guayaquil. Already in Solca they told us that the cancer is terminal and that they will treat the girl with chemotherapy, medicines to keep her (alive) and they will operate on her again“, it says.

Before arriving in Guayaquil, Luisa asked other mothers what the cost of lodging and food would be, since she has no relatives in the city. It was an issue that worried her, since they are of limited economic resources. It is there that she was told about the Soldiers of God Hostellocated in the La Atarazana citadel, near Solca, and which works in a two-story house.

In the living room of that house is where Diana, together with other children diagnosed with cancer, plays and tries to cope with her situation in a positive way. On the second floor are the bedrooms. The site welcomes infants and one of their relatives, especially if they are from the province or from peripheral sectors of Guayaquil such as Monte Sinaí.

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There the parents, mostly women, coordinate to cook and do the cleaning. The food arrives thanks to the donations managed by the shelter.

Diana Merchán, president of the association that runs the shelter, indicates that on June 5, 2014, the reception of children began in its facilities. She says that it all started with a group of friends who were volunteering at other places where cancer patients were housed.

“We did not like certain things and we wanted the children to be better cared for, to better manage their diet, their cleaning, the maintenance of the bedrooms. We join efforts, we get together and we get the house”, he indicates.

The owner of that house is the soccer player Cristhian Noboa and his mother is part of the hostel directory: “He is still the owner, but he practically gave us the house in a symbolic loan with no expiration date.”, says Merchan.

The electrical appliances, furniture and all the furnishings of the hostel have been obtained based on donations through the figure of godparents. Among the donors have been public figures such as former player Martín Kenig.

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In these eight years of operation Soldaditos de Dios has housed up to 210 children, each with a companion. Any parent who has a child, from 0 to 15 years old, with cancer can stay in the house only by presenting the child’s medical history, a copy of the patient’s ID and that of a relative. Everything is totally free. The length of stay will depend on the treatment of the minor.

“There are children that we see grow up, who were brought by babies and then they are adolescents. We have seen how they beat cancer. Others who opened their wings along the way. We try to make the children happy here because before, when they found out they were coming to Guayaquil, they cried because this city meant needles, hospitals. Now the children themselves ask their parents to bring them to the shelter or they don’t want to leave because they have services in our facilities that they don’t have at home, such as internet, video games or a good meal. We are not a hostel but the children’s house”, adds Merchán.

Vilma Vera is also staying with her son José Daniel, 13, at Soldaditos de Dios. They are from Simón Bolívar, near Milagro. The minor has been fighting leukemia for almost two years. “Every time my son needs chemotherapy, I come to the shelter. Sometimes we stay from one to three days and in others five days or a month. In the shelter among all the mothers we help each other”, he says.

The leukemia suffered by José Daniel is of the lymphoid type. This pathology is the most diagnosed in entities such as Solca Guayaquil in male children. While the shelter helps with room and board costs, parents spend on medicine for their children and transportation to hospitals.

“To come to Guayaquil I have to pay for tickets, transfer of two cars. From the hostel to the Ycaza Bustamante hospital (it is in the center-south) spending on taxis, each trip costs three dollars. Sometimes we have to go up to four times a day. That is why we have to see how we invent it to try to cover the expenses“, it says. Vilma sells or exchanges greens to obtain medicines or other medical supplies that sometimes are not available in the hospital.

People who want to help the Soldaditos de Dios shelter can do so through the official profiles on social networks. They can also bring food or donations directly to the house, located in La Atarazana, or make transfers to the savings account 0809049531 of Banco del Austro, RUC 0992882107001.

“We prefer food, physical donations. If they want to donate money, rather pay us for a month of electricity, water or internet. That helps us a lot to continue with this work”, says Merchan.

As Luisa wipes away her tears and hugs her granddaughter, whom she considers her daughter, she is filled with hope and affirms that she will not give up and that she trusts that God “will perform the miracle of saving her girl.” (I)