What the numbers don’t show: a letter from our founder

As an entrepreneur, I love numbers. They show how efficiently a system works. But numbers have one flaw: you can’t see the real people behind them, the people whose lives changed because of our work.

So in October, a few colleagues and I travelled to Nigeria to meet Helpster’s local team in person and help them during our humanitarian missions in the most underserved local communities.

The results of this trip speak for themselves. We brought free medical help to hundreds of underprivileged families in the Makoko and Mile 12 communities. Also, Africa Business Insider, The Guardian Nigeria, ANECDOTED and other reputable media outlets have published pieces about how our system works, how we verify medical cases and make sure that our help reaches those who need it most.

But the main outcome of this trip for me personally is that it added a whole new dimension and depth to how I see our work – all thanks to the people I met and the stories I heard.

I will never forget the family of Waheed, one of Helpster’s very first patients. They walked for 3 hours just to say thank you for paying for their child’s surgery 2.5 years ago. Since then the boy has grown up, become the best student in his class and is living a happy childhood with his mum, dad and a cat named Bingo. That is infinitely more than just one saved life in our report. And it would not have happened without Helpster.

Or Victoria, a girl with a huge tumour on her neck. In all 17 years she has never had friends, even though she is very smart, loves reading and writing her own stories. She cried so hard telling us how she’s been bullied all her life. Her parents tried to save up for the surgery but never managed to. And a few days ago the tumour was gone forever because Helpster funded her surgery. I saw her photo after the surgery: she is bandaged all over, but glowing with happiness.

Or little Victor, who found a tiny watch battery at home and swallowed it. Now his mum feeds him through a tube in his stomach. He will never be able to eat through his mouth again if we don’t pay for his surgery. As a parent, I understand that something like this could have happened to anyone.

In reports, these stories read as medical cases. Meeting the people behind them in person moves you on a much deeper level. It makes you realise how much we all have in common, no matter where we come from. Every parent wants the same thing: for their child to grow up healthy and happy.

It’s just that some of us were born where the life-saving surgery is covered by insurance. And some weren’t. And then the chance of treatment depends on someone stepping in to help. This is exactly why we created Helpster.

And I’m glad for everyone who learns about us and joins our mission. Thanks to you, behind the numbers in our next reports there will be thousands of new saved lives and new stories.

Nikita Kuzmin, founder of Helpster Charity