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Our Story - Little Ark Foundation

Our Story

Our Story

LITTLE ARK FOUNDATION

LITTLE ARK FOUNDATION

“My dream is for every Filipino child with cancer to have the best chance of surviving and to instill hope in humanity to every Filipino family.”
— Sonny Bustamante, Founder and CEO

For Founder and CEO Sonny Bustamante, the Little Ark Foundation is a personal advocacy. It was founded on every teardrop he and his wife shed while watching their young son endure various medical procedures, including a bone marrow transplant to cure his sickness. It was built on hope and humanity that they experienced during their son’s journey to recovery.

In 2014, Bustamante’s youngest son, who was just 3 years old, was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia. When he was 5, he was diagnosed with aplastic anemia. And just a year later, he had bone marrow failure and needed a transplant as his condition was leading to leukemia. It felt like a bottomless pit of heartaches for Bustamante, who was having a steady career as an immigrant living in New Jersey with his family.

But then, an anonymous donor stepped forward and soon after, Bustamante’s son underwent a successful bone marrow transplant in 2019. With his son’s full recovery, Bustamante’s faith in humanity grew stronger.

Despite the early circumstances, Bustamante knew from the start that his child had a good chance of surviving in the States. And as he reflected on their harrowing experience, he could not help but wonder how their situation might have been if they did not have the resources to go through their son’s ordeal.

Bustamante began to research on similar cases in the Philippines and found many unfortunate endings primarily due to poverty and lack of access to proper medical care. It was then that he realized he could help make a difference. In 2020, Bustamante established the Little Ark Foundation – a non-profit group that aims to help take care of the needs of poor children with cancer and other critical illnesses.

The Little Ark Foundation believes that each Filipino child with cancer, regardless of social status, should have access to proper medical care. With your help and generosity, the Foundation can go a long way in supporting more patients belonging to underprivileged families. With your donations, the Little Ark can carry more children and take them to a safe and happy journey home with their families.

Our son Noah’s journey made our family stronger together. The ups and downs came like the waves of the ocean, but we kept moving forward. I knew we had to be strong to keep our young Noah’s hopes high, but it was our son who was the most resilient among us. His will and strength guided us and kept us going.

I am sharing this chapter of Noah’s life through a few photos in this gallery. It is our hope that through our family’s experience, your faith in God and in humanity will remain and even grow amidst your own trials. We are all in this together. The Little Ark Foundation is glad to have you on board.

Noah receives red blood and platelets before his bone marrow transplant.

Picture was taken during his birthday on December 17, 2018 – 6 months before his transplant.
Nurse explains to Noah what a central line is and why he needs it.
Noah poses outside his hospital room where he stayed for 1 month during the procedure.
Noah doing his daily exercise. He walks when connected to the IV machine and rides the car when not connected.
Noah continues to do schoolwork during confinement.
Noah gets daily visits from the activity center and gets a prize (toy) from them weekly. They also provide materials for arts and crafts.
Our little warrior is being prepared for radiation. Picture on top right is the radiation beam.
Jean and Iain visit Noah every weekend to hang out.
Getting ready for the transplant.
Six to seven IV lines are connected to his central line.
Time to celebrate as Noah is discharged after one month in the hospital. It’s his first time outside the Blood and Marrow Transplant Unit after one month of isolation.
With his siblings, Jean and Iain. We rented an apartment in Philadelphia as Noah needed to stay within an hour radius from the hospital in case of an emergency.
Finally home after four long months.