Help Save Leslie Doctora's Life

I wanted to take a moment to talk about a good friend, a family member named Leslie Doctora, and shine some light on exactly who she is.

Residing in Bacolod City, Philippines, Ms. Leslie does everything she can to help the youth in her area, who, in her own words, became her children to look after. She assists these children by aiding in taking care of basic needs--school fees, uniforms, food, etc.--even though she has very little. In addition, she takes care of her daughters, one of whom is a prominent and talented dancer and first FyreNation Crew Philippines member, Mael Doctora, aka Maelstrom.

Ms. Leslie has always tried to do what she can to help others, never asking for anything back. Her daughter, Mael, is the same way, and it shows in the way she dauntlessly and willingly pushes and tries her best, taking full advantage of every opportunity to move forward with her dream to become a great professional dancer, honing her talent in a way that brings her much-deserved attention and support. Ms. Leslie has been friends with me for over three years now, and in all that time, I never knew the fullest extent of how hard she had it because she never talked negatively, always praying for and offering encouragement to myself and my crew.

She's been overseeing the kids who fall between the cracks of the dance scene there, helping them do what they can so that they don't give up on their dreams, meanwhile doing whatever it takes to help her daughter pursue school, dance training, and pretty much anything she can do to further her chances of a career. In addition, Leslie has done everything from laundry to delivery and other odd jobs to scrape enough together to support her family, even while critically sick and needing medical attention.

All this being said, Leslie is a hero; with considerably less than others, she does the most to help everyone--more than others who have the money and resources to do what she does but refuse to care for the community the way she does.

She may be mad that we posted this, but we feel led to say that even though my fiancé Joy Rowe and I have sent the funds donated to us in our community outreach events, there is a lot that Leslie and her family need. Currently, she is dealing with significant health issues that she cannot face alone, and we all know it's expensive and it will be nearly impossible to pay for her treatments without help, but we wanted more to say this upfront.

She received news about her condition being centered around heart and liver complications, and her medical treatments would cost her close to $1,500 in USD. So we are trying to raise money the way we have and send it to her family to care for her medical needs.

The story of Leslie Doctora needs to be told because she represents everything we stand for in the dance community. She's been putting in the work with a smile, despite being in pain, bed-ridden, living in miserable conditions, and feeling like she's a burden and hasn't done much. Well, we are here to say that everyone's lives she has touched will remember her regardless, and we will do everything we can to help her overcome and beat this illness.

Leslie doesn't want to ask for donations, but we know she needs this help as soon as possible, and we refuse to let her story go unnoticed.