Jasmine Dembele is hoping to help give her dad much-needed rest to recover from cancer
A desperate daughter who is 1,000 miles away from her dad is fundraising after his cancer diagnosis that has shaken their family. Jasmine Dembele felt helpless when her dad, David, told her that he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer in March 2025.
David has worked day and night at his bicycle-rental-and-repair business in Tuscany in northern Italy for the last 30 years. He is the family’s main caregiver, looking after his children and parents at their home in Tuscany. Now, this diagnosis threatens to ruin all the hard work he has created and may leave the family with nothing.
Jasmine, 29, who has been in London for the last six years, told MyLondon: “He is a very proud man. He never cries about what he’s going through, and if he knew I was doing this fundraiser, he wouldn’t even want to accept it. He has worked every summer ever since I was born. He worked seven days a week, 12+ hours a day. If he has to work while going through this treatment, working every day will not help his recovery.
“He’s 55 kilos. When I speak to him, he tries to make me think it’s not an issue, but I can tell he’s scared. His dad died from cancer when he was young. I know he is scared that if he dies and leaves nothing behind for his kids, he feels he would be a failure – but I don’t care about that. He always provided for us. I want to help save my dad’s legacy.”
Jasmine is fundraising to help her dad hire a worker to run the repair shop while he recovers. The other option is to close the business, but she knows he wouldn’t want to do that.
She continued: “My dad is always someone who wants to help people. I know not everybody can donate, but even if they share it, that would be amazing. My father is too humble to ask for help, and he would never let his clients down. This work is the heartbeat of our family; it is the primary income that feeds six people and keeps us moving forward.
“I’m the eldest, and my dad has been working non-stop. He didn’t want me to start a GoFundMe for him, but I know he needs to rest. He would work from sunrise to sunset. The bike shop is right in the sun; it doesn’t have a toilet on-site. He doesn’t have much help, so the plan is to raise some money and help hire somebody so my dad can not work this one summer and recover.”
Jasmine is hoping to raise £40,000 to help cover the legal costs of hiring staff, as well as the cost of purchasing essential bicycles and tools, which are ready for the season.
“I want him to be able to recover. He has to keep getting checks every few months. Working every day wouldn’t work for him. He’s 55kilos – that’s skinnier than me.
“There are six of us in our family, and he provides for all my family back in Tuscany. Our family home is small. My grandmother lives there as well. He’s never made enough money to hire any staff himself, and he always overworked himself to provide for us. He’s a simple man, so if people can help us, that would make me feel good”, Jasmine continued.
You can donate to Jasmine’s fundraiser here.
