An Afghan boy who received medical treatment through the generosity of Canadian soldiers and an Edmonton church, has passed away.

The six-year-old boy, Namatullah, died Thursday. His family had brought him to the Canadian provincial reconstruction team after he stopped breathing, but doctors were unable to revive him.

"Very quickly, once we put him on the heart monitor and etc., it became clear that his heart had no electrical activity and he was already showing signs of rigor mortis," said Dr. Adrian Norbash.

Relatives buried him in a village graveyard in his hometown of Kandahar, but Canadian soldiers could not attend for security reasons.

The boy had a massive tumour on his face, and soldiers had rallied to his cause to raise the money to pay for his treatment in Quetta, Pakistan.

Namatullah's chemotherapy treatment was funded by church donations that were organized by a Canadian ambulance driver, Cpl. Brian Sanders.

At first, the treatment appeared to have gone well. The cancer that had attacked the boy's face was virtually gone.

After receiving his first chemotherapy treatment he was released from hospital Tuesday, and returned to his home. But by Wednesday, he was battling an infection and fever.

The treatment had weakened his immune system, and doctors were attempting to treat him with antibiotics, but still felt positive about his condition.

He had been given a 60 to 65 per cent chance of surviving, which was positive considering he was initially expected to live just a few weeks.

Speaking on the phone from Frankfurt, Germany, CTV's Lisa LaFlamme said the boy's condition was normal when she left Afghanistan on Wednesday. The doctor treating the boy told her Namatullah had a fever, but that was normal for someone in his condition.

"I left that country thinking perhaps a miracle could still happen, but obviously the cancer, which started out six months ago… is now terminal cancer," LaFlamme told CTV Newsnet on Thursday.

The boy had a rare form of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. In the West, about 60 per cent of children diagnosed with the disease survive.

Although he was still too weak to walk, Namatullah was reunited on Tuesday with the soldier who arranged for his treatment. At that point, it seemed as though he was on the road to recovery.

"It was truly amazing to see him again," Sanders said.

"He is a totally different-looking boy from the last time I saw him."

Namatullah and his grandfather, Taj Mohammad, showed up at the Canadian base last month after being turned away from several hospitals that had no painkillers to treat the boy.

Sanders emailed photographs of Namatullah to his hometown North Edmonton Christian Fellowship church, and the 300 people who attended the next Sunday service donated $11,000.

Donations swelled to $18,000 when the appeal spread to the broader community. The money raised allowed the boy to get treatment in Pakistan.

The money raised will now support a children's hospital in Kandahar.

Pastor Henry Motta said Namatullah's treatment has changed the attitude of local Afghans toward the Canadian soldiers.

"It is very encouraging to hear from Cpl. Sanders that the community declared the Canadian soldiers their friends," Motta told The Canadian Press. "This is something that happened just through this little boy."

Namatullah lived in a slum with his father, who is an opium addict.

After his grandson's death, Mohammad said the kindness of Canadians won't be forgotten.

"Until I breathe my last breath I will remember what the Canadians did for my family," he said.

Sanders had become deeply committed to the boy's cause and had pledged to open a bank account for him to continue paying for his treatment out of his own pocket, if necessary.

Sanders said he was happy he had the chance to see the boy again.

"When he came in here yesterday and he was waving at me and smiling, that was closure for me. That was huge closure. He was happy," Sanders said.

LaFlamme said Namatullah's situation illustrates the Canadian commitment to the people of Afghanistan.

"He is just one of a million children there, and that is a boy who has put an Afghan face on Canada's mission in the country," LaFlamme said. "I think it's important for people to realize that that's why the Canadian forces are there, to try to restore some of the things that take for granted in the western world."

With a report from CTV's Ellen Pinchuk and files from The Canadian Press