Before the devastating death of Ashley Cain and girlfriend Safiyya Vorajee’s daughter Azaylia, the Ex On The Beach star set up a GoFundMe to raise money for Azaylia’s treatment in Singapore although they were later told that her condition was too rare for it to work.
Now, a few after the eight-month-old’s death from acute myeloid leukaemia, Ashley and Safiyya have announced that they will be setting up a charity on their daughter’s name with some of the money raised.
In an update on the fundraiser page which has so far raised £1.6 million, they said, “To all our amazing supporters, we want to send our heartfelt thank yous to everyone who donated money, made and sent gifts, commented, prayed and showered our family with love and strength during the toughest days of our lives.
“Azaylia joined the angels in heaven on Saturday 24th April after the most courageous battle with AML. She showed her heart, strength and determination every step of the way and we are so so proud of her.”
They continued, “During her short life on earth side she brought the world together, she claimed a community – her very own pride – who made amazing things happen. The world lit up. The world talked about childhood cancer. The world showed its heart. And YOU helped to make all of that happen.
“The amount of money needed for Azaylia’s potential treatment in Singapore was raised in just 24 hours. That money can sadly no longer be used to help Azaylia but we want to make sure it is used positively – and in Azaylia’s name. After days of emotional yet careful consideration we have decided that, firstly, we would like to use some to give Azaylia a magical and deserving send off – something that we believe you would all want to be a part of.”
Ashley and Safiyya added, “Secondly, we will use the remaining money to help other children through a new charity we are setting up in Azaylia’s name. She has guided us throughout this process, and it only feels right that we continue to use the platform we built together to help those in similar situations.
“What we saw during our time fighting this monster has changed us forever and we will spend the rest of our lives spreading Azaylia’s message of hope and strength to all those who need it. We will ensure she lives on until the day we are able to hold her again in paradise.
“We hope you will all continue to support us and keep our Likkle Lion Azaylia’s name in your hearts and thoughts forever. Together we can make a positive difference to the world and fight Childhood Cancer. #LetsGoChamp.”
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Ashley recently shared how heart-breaking it is to have to plan the Azaylia’s funeral.
He took to Instagram to say, “I always dreaded the first time I’d have to plan a funeral. But I never thought it would be my own child’s funeral. Nothing could ever have prepared me for this. Some days it breaks me and I can’t even bare to do it.”
He continued, “I always thought I was tough, but making decisions on how I’m going to bury my baby is enough to bring me to my knees every single time. It’s hard to make sense of anything right now, especially why did it have to happen this way!”