Cancer is said to be the leading cause of death among children. The majority of cases in children goes undiagnosed. This leads to health decline and death. Moreover, communities need to participate and support in the fight against cancer. Zimbabwe has an organisation for this, KidzCan. Additionally, the organisation works with donors.
How KidzCan is helping children
Firstly, KidzCan provides transport. This is to and from hospital for treatment. Zimbabwe’s cancer hospitals are in major cities. This makes traveling expensive for patients in rural areas. KidzCan fills the gap by providing transport fare. In addition, help with travel costs for treatment is important for recovery. Also, children and their caregivers rely on KidzCan for this as the majority can’t afford it.
Secondly, the organisation supports families of these children. They provide individual and group counselling. Moreso, counselling is also for children and caregivers. Parent support groups are given once a week. This is to help them cope. Living with and experiencing cancer can be hard on kids and parents or guardians. Therefore, KidzCan provides psychosocial support for this.
Thirdly, KidzCan conducts early detection and awareness campaigns and workshops. These are currently being done in Mashonaland Central. In September last year, KidzCan brought awareness during the Agriculture Show. This was in Harare, and they reached about 800 people. Awareness is a one way to get the message out. It helps the communities know of childhood cancer. Also, it helps with early detection for treatment.
Finally, they advocate for subsidised private specialised medical and health services. They also promote paediatric oncology services within the public health system. All this is to ensure children have adequate care. KidzCan and its donors work to improve the fight against childhood cancer. Private and public players need to be on board to make this happen.
KidzCan funding and events
Additionally, KidzCan heavily relies on donations and fundraising events. Corporations like Delta, Husqvarna, Schweppes Zimbabwe and many others donate. They play a huge part in making sure KidzCan gets the help they need to help the children. They participate in fund raising events as well.
Recently, KidzCan in collaboration with TM Pick n Pay and other stakeholders provided accommodation for patients. In addition was food and recreational services. This was all catered for concerned partners. Also, a US$ 10 million donation by Pick n pay was made towards this.
Additionally, this was for children who live more than 15km from Harare. Some of these children receive treatment in Harare. This donation was a huge help as it eases the transportation burden. The transport system in Zimbabwe is not as efficient as it should be. It is also expensive. Therefore, this donation helped a lot. It helps reduce the burden that comes from getting transport to treatment.
Also, on April 1st, 2023, Husqvarna is hosting a mud run. All proceeds will go to KidzCan. Here, people pay to take part in the mud run with all the money going to KidzCan’s fight against cancer. Last year, US$ 80 546 was raised. This is a yearly thing and it started in 2013. A lot of locals attend this mud run because of its good cause.
All this help to KidzCan is important. They cannot do what they do alone. The donors they have are part of their lifeblood. Moreso, there is need for more to be done. They always call on more people to donate, participate and help. As the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child, therefore, it should also take a village to help a child in need.
