This year over 6,000 children are expected to develop cancer in Bangladesh. In developed countries like the UK, as many as 80% of these would survive but in developing ones like Bangladesh, this figure drops to as low as 10%. By supporting World Child Cancer you can change this.

World Child Cancer is launching a new project in Bangladesh to give children with cancer the ‘Gift of Growing Up’. By supporting the training of more healthcare professionals, providing financial and emotional support to families and empowering nurses to provide a better quality of care you can stop children dying from curable forms of cancer.

Give before 30th June and your donation will be doubled by the UK government, meaning your support will go twice as far.

Why I’m support World Child Cancer

I first became involved with the charity when invited to join World Child Cancer's 'When I was Young' campaign and was later followed by a visit to see their work in Bangladesh. It was the latter that really drove home the importance of supporting children with cancer in Dhaka and beyond. Discovering that childhood cancer survival rates are as low as 10% in some developing countries compared to as high as 80% in developing countries was so shocking to hear.

After hearing of World Child Cancer's appeal to Give the Gift of Growing Up I couldn't wait to get involved. With all donations made before 30th June doubled by the UK Government, this is was such a fantastic opportunity to ensure support for children with cancer goes twice as far.

Meet Shabana and her son, Samuel

“When my son was young, he was a great student of English. We had high hopes for him to become a business man when he grew up but after he began to suffer, we almost lost all hope.”

Shabana works on the paediatric oncology ward at Dhaka Shishu Hospital but her connection to childhood cancer began long before her current role.

“Watching someone suffer is so difficult but to see your own son suffer is something no mother should have to do. When Samuel was a young boy, he came down with a severe fever. We did our best to help him recover and visited our local doctor to try and find a solution.”

In developing countries like Bangladesh even amongst healthcare professionals there is little awareness of childhood cancer meaning children are often misdiagnosed or receive treatment late which can significantly reduce their chances of survival.

“Samuel had been suffering from a fever and day by day he was getting weaker and weaker. We did not understand what was happening to our son. We went to our local doctor who ran some blood tests and told us he had an issue with his blood. We still did not understand what was happening to our son and were fearing the worst.”

When returning home with some medication, Shabnam says the family did all they could to help their son recover and return to school;

“We tried our best to keep him in school and help him recover but after no change in his health we went elsewhere to try and find out what was wrong with our son.”

The family eventually reached Dhaka Shishu Hospital, it was here that they were told Samuel had cancer.

“We began to pray to the Almighty to show grace to help save our son from such a severe disease. I have a strong faith in Allah and believed he would help us in our moment of need.”

When asking Samuel about his time at hospital, he recalled a helpless time where he relied on his mother’s prayers and the work of the doctors and nurses to care for him;

“I remember feeling weak, so weak. When I first became unwell, I missed going to school but as I began to suffer more and felt my body get skinnier nothing else mattered anymore. I saw my mother praying to the Almighty and thankfully I have now been able to repay our faith.”

After finally receiving the treatment he desperately needed at Dhaka Shishu Hospital, which is supported by World child Cancer, Samuel went on to make a full recovery and how now become an Imam at a local mosque after completing his religious studies.

“Before my illness I had dreams of becoming a lawyer but once I stopped going to school and falling ill, all I wanted to do was feel better. My mother and I prayed for my health. I am so happy to be given the opportunity to grow up and devote myself to Islam and my faith.”

6,000 children will develop cancer in Bangladesh this year, yet just a fraction of these will ever receive an accurate diagnosis. Despite his cancer, Samuel was one of the lucky ones. His mother’s determination meant he did receive treatment and has been given the gift of growing up.

“World Child Cancer helped us in so many ways. Without their help, I would not have been able to afford treatment or have enough money to send my other children to school.”

“In Bangladesh when a child arrives at hospital with cancer, families leave immediately without any care as they cannot afford the treatment. Without the treatment they have no hope. By donating to World Child Cancer people can help so many families in Bangladesh.”

Call to action

You can help now by hitting the 'Support' button at the top of the page and sharing the link www.launchgood.com/worldchildcancer with your friends, family and colleagues OR text 'GROWING' to 70085 to donate £4. This costs £4 plus a standard rate message. Give before 30th June and all donations to our Gift of Growing Up appeal will be doubled by the UK government. 

Children of today are the leaders and pioneers of tomorrow. Many children are robbed of their future each year by curable forms of cancer but with your support we can change this. By donating today, you can help train more healthcare professionals, empower local nurses and support some of the poorest and most disadvantaged families in the world. 

More Information

For more information on World Child Cancer’s work and how they look to end suffering for children with cancer across the developing world visit www.worldchildcancer.org or email info@worldchildcancer.org

Thank you for all your generosity and support in helping to end suffering for children with cancer in Bangladesh.

World Child Cancer Team