Jhene Aiko has had a very busy year. After dropping her short-film entitled Trip that navigates how she deals with the death of her brother Miyagi who died of cancer in 2012. She also dropped an album with the same title, and even released a poetry book 2Fish.
On Christmas, the singer launched WAYS Foundation in honor of her late brother, designed to provide financial support and hope to cancer patients and their families. Niko told Billboard:
“This Christmas, I decided to gift my family with the ‘WAYS Foundation,’ something my family and I have had in the works since the passing of my brother. I decided to make a donation on my family’s behalf in which we plan to continue to help people and families affected by cancer.”
WAYS is an acronym for “Why aren’t you smiling,” a phrase the singer’s brother used during his own battle with cancer.
According to Billboard, the songstress made her first donation in the amount of $15,000 on Christmas Eve to five-year-old Lily Olive. Olive was diagnosed with leukemia over Thanksgiving break, and has since been battling the illness.
