The Piscataway community came together for a Day of Fun on Saturday, April 26, to support and celebrate seventh-grader Omar Danso in his fight against kidney failure and his search for a transplant.

More than 100 people took part in a 5K fun run and walk at a drizzly Riverside Park in Piscataway, and many more enjoyed music, food trucks, and games with Omar and his family.

“There’s currently over 100,000 people waiting for transplants, with over 2,000 pediatric patients waiting for transplants,” Jasmin Eversley-Danso, Omar’s mother, said at the start of the event, which coincided with National Donate Life Month. “So this event really is to raise awareness for organ donation and also just to celebrate Omar and have a day of fun for him. We want to show support for his journey and everything he’s been going through over the past several months.”

Omar, who is 13 and a student Schor Middle School, first fell ill in December and has been undergoing nightly dialysis treatment that do the work that his failing kidneys can’t. 

Eversley-Danso is working with Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, home of the No. 1 kidney transplant program in the Northeast, to find a donor and prepare for a transplant. She began going through the process of being tested for donation herself on April 2, which coincidentally was National Living Donor Day. Several others have begun the detailed process since then.

The Day of Fun event was also intended to raise awareness about organ donation in general. Groups including the NJ Sharing Network, the Piscataway High School Donate Life Club, Dialysis Clinic Inc., and Bayada Home Health Care  were on hand to share health care information.

Food trucks included Mike Makes Grill and Mr. Softee; crowds danced to DJ music; and there were crafts and games for children.
Lisa Parker, principal at Schor Middle School, thanked everyone for coming out to support “our baby, Omar.”

“He is an amazing student, and an amazing person,” she said. “Everyone is here to celebrate him, his life, and his quest. We are so very proud of the tenacity that this young man has.”
Eversley-Danso was assisted by Schor Middle School counselor Nancy Arvizzigno in organizing the event. Arvizzigno thanked several supporters, including Spavia in Clark, who donated a spa day for Eversley-Danso; Piscataway Township Recreation Director John Tierney; Maschio’s Food Service and ShopRite on Park Avenue in South Plainfield, who both donated bottled water; and several student organizations who lent a hand.

“After getting through the initial bumps in the road, he has really pushed through and persevered through everything,” Eversley-Danso said. “Sometimes his strength really surprises me. It does get hard but we just want to be a source of support for him every single day.”