HELP jubal live a long life
From L: Jubal Hting Nan Seng; Jubal with his sister, April; Jubal donating toys to a refugee camp in Northern Myanmar
Jubal, the Wonder Boy
[May, 2023] Jubal is the son of our dear friend, and one of Matt’s former teaching assistants, Htu San. From early on, it was clear that Jubal was a special kid. He is extremely bright, musical, and giving.
Jubal was born in 2008 with a heart defect - one of the chambers in his heart was not large or strong enough to work properly. He had surgery at 15 months old to receive a shunt. Now, at 15, his oxygen levels are dangerously low and he needs surgery as soon as possible.
The coup in Myanmar has gutted the healthcare system, so now Jubal must go to India for surgery and treatment. Not only is Jubal’s family struggling to come up with the $7,500 USD for the trip to India, but they have also had to wait several months to get a visa to go there. It’s not easy to get a visa when you’re from Myanmar, and the bureaucracy has delayed their ability to get him timely treatment. After hanging on for months now, they finally have the visas and paperwork and must find the money to go to India and have the surgery.
From L: Jubal and his family at ISM’s International Day; Jubal teaching online; one of Jubal’s many hospital stays.
We rarely ask our friends for money, but we care deeply about Jubal and his family and want to try and help them. Htu San and her husband, Hkunseng, have been so good to us. Matt played for many musical events at their church in Yangon, and they showed us around Eastern Shan State - even arranging for us to meet and record some Akha musicians. Jubal himself is an extraordinary human being - raising donations for refugees, starting his own Learning Center and teaching online, composing and conducting music at his church. He has accomplished more at his young age than most adults we know! He deserves a good, long life and has so much to give.
The family has raised as much money as they could, and now our goal is to raise an additional $5,000 to help them. Donations can be sent via Paypal to Joanne & Matt (seattlenomads@gmail.com) - please indicate personal expenses, and include “Jubal surgery” in the notes field. We are looking into the best way to get the money to them - we will likely send it directly to the hospital in India.
We will keep you posted on Jubal’s progress. Thank you for any support you can give.
From L: Jubal at the piano; Jubal conducting at his church; Jubal at Matt’s birthday in Yangon.