Family launches kindness campaign in Calgary in honor of Filipino boy who passed away from cancer

His family and close friends began a ‘Pay It Forward’ campaign in his honor and called it “Jerylle’s Gift of Joy”. (File Photo: Arlene Saquibal/Facebook)

The family of Jerylle Saquibal, who passed away on March 12, 2020 due to cancer, has launched a campaign to help others in honor of his memory. He was nine years old.

The boy was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a kind of cancer that develops from immature nerve cells found in several areas of the body with high risks of relapse, at the age of three, and fought the illness for five and a half years before passing away.

The cancer is most commonly a kind of tumor found in infancy.

His family and close friends began a ‘Pay It Forward’ campaign in his honor and called it “Jerylle’s Gift of Joy”.

Jerylle’s family said that the boy always wanted to help people in need, including those who live in the streets with nothing to eat, which he would ask his parents to buy them a hamburger.

“In one of his little notes in his little memory box was to be nice to people,” said Jerylle’s father, Jorez Saquibal, in an interview with CTV News.

As the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues, more and more people are going through tough times and the Saquibals decided to lend a helping hand.

Jerylle’s family started the “Jerylle’s Gift of Joy” in a public Facebook group where people can receive an act of kindness and a pay it forward card, share it on the group, and pass on the joy.

“This page exists because of a boy who valiantly fought cancer for 5 1/2 years,” read the description of the campaign’s group. “Through-out his journey he spread joy and light to whomever he came across. We wanted to continue his legacy and create awareness.”

In an interview with CTV news, Jerylle’s Grade 3 classmate Kalani Lockhart Or said that he was a nice and fun friend and the two battled on the game Fortnite for hours.

Kalani’s mother, Erin Lockhart Or, observed that the two had a tight bond that one wouldn’t see in their age.

“He was kind to everyone, and just super-super fun to be around, really funny,” Lockhart Or said in the same interview.

Numerous people have donated to the campaign through its Facebook group which is regularly updated by Jerylle’s parents. The page also has a lot of posts where people shared stories about their memories of Jerylle and some of the donations that they received through the ‘Pay It Forward’ campaign.

The campaign is currently teaming up with another donation drive called “Made By Momma”, a food drive that seeks to collect non-perishable foods to be donated to struggling families.

The Saquibals want to continue to raise awareness for childhood cancer and eventually find a cure.