Every Sunday at 6 a.m., my mom would turn on her favorite shows, like Casa Cerrado, as we rushed to get ready for church. I remember the tugging of my curls as she tried to pull them into a ponytail, the tears that came with every rough pull, and her reminders to take better care of my hair.

But what stayed with me most from those mornings wasn’t the chaos but the commercials in between. They showed families in Latin America facing life-threatening illnesses, desperately needing money for life-saving surgery. Even as a child, those stories stayed with me. They hurt more than anything else in that moment.

As I’ve grown older, I started to understand those struggles more deeply. My father often shared stories of rationing food among ten siblings growing up. He always told me, “Never forget where you came from.” Those words have stayed with me.

I often think about how easily my own family could have been in those situations if they hadn’t immigrated. That realization has shaped my desire to help others and not just to feel empathy towards them, but to act on it.

That’s why I am raising $1,000 to support the life-saving work of Doctors Without Borders. This organization provides urgent medical care to people affected by conflict, poverty, and disaster. People who don’t have access to the care they need to survive.

Any contribution, no matter the size, can help provide critical medical treatment to those who need it most. Thank you for helping me turn compassion into action.

Here’s how your donations can support their vital work: