Football fundraiser takes aim at family’s cancer fight
Published:Saturday | November 13, 2021 | 12:10 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Premier League players such as Oquassa Chong and Jermaine ‘Teddy’ Johnson are just some of the local stars who will be on show at today’s football fundraiser for Rojeif Seivwright, the son of Molynes United defender, Kemar Seivwright, who is battling stage-four cancer.
Neuroblastoma is a type of cancer that commonly affects children age five and younger.
The event takes place at the SDC Complex in Springfield, Morant Bay, starting at 1 p.m. and dad, Kemar, needs another $5 million for Rojeif to begin treatment overseas.
With half of the $10-million bill already accounted for, Kemar is hoping to raise at least $500,000 from today’s event.
“Tomorrow’s event is just a small fundraiser for Rojeif. We are going to play two games for the day and try to provide some entertainment for people who want to pass through and give a donation,” Kemar said last evening.
A box will be provided at the gate for patrons to deposit their donations in, while food and refreshments will also be on sale.
The first game between Phoenix Academy and St Thomas Academy starts at 1 p.m. and the feature game between the St Thomas All-Stars and the Premier League All-Stars begins at 3 p.m.
“The main aim is to raise as much money as I can to deposit to the hospital so I can reach the $10-million mark for them to start the treatment. I already have $5 million deposited so I just need another $5 million to get him off the island.
“Anything over half-million-dollar will be good. If it is more that would be good but we are hoping to donate at least that to the hospital,” he continued.
Stars such as Jermaine ‘Tuffy’ Anderson and Devon Hodges, crowd favourites from the previous two editions, will not be present, but a number of young stars will be on show, he noted.
“We will have some of the young sensations like Oquassa Chong along with Jermaine ‘Teddy’ Johnson. People like Tuffy Anderson and Hodges will not be present this time around, but we will have some of our young sensations to fill that gap,” guaranteed Keymar.
Meanwhile, Rojeif is currently admitted to the Bustamante Hospital for Children, where he is undergoing a five-month chemotherapy cycle. The young man has already undergone three months of the cycle.
“The cancer has weakened his feet. So they had to straighten his foot and cast it so that it does not heal in that deformed way,” he disclosed.
He is also thankful for the continued show of support. “The support has never dropped, people continue to call and give prayers for him and pledged their support and I am very appreciative of all of them all,” he said.