We are a group of friends raising money in support of a wonderful boy called Rafael and his parents Leigh & Miguel.

Rafael has a range of complex disabilities, and we want to help Rafael's family raise funds for much needed adaptations to the family home, so he can live as full a life as possible as well as get to and from the hospital safely.

There are 15 of us plus our wider family and friends who are taking on various fundraising challenges to add to this pot of donations.

Rafael has a rare genetic condition called Smith Lemli Opitz syndrome, which affects him in many ways – for example he is profoundly deaf and is a wheelchair user. He has autism, an intellectual disability, drug resistant epilepsy and is entirely G-tube fed.

Despite the many challenges Rafael faces and the difficult hospital stays he has had to endure, he is such a lovely smiley boy who loves to laugh, high five people and get into mischief!

Caring for Rafael now that he is getting older is becoming even more challenging and his parents really need the extra support to make home adaptations to allow them to continue to care for him at home.

Please help this lovely family to get the adaptations they desperately need.

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.

If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, they will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives. If, in those circumstances, we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child, any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.