​ACTIONS / GOALS

CANCER & CHILDREN. A connection that is difficult to make and yet…

PRIMORY CONCERN 
Social fund 
 
It is of the utmost importance that every child has access to medical care.  A child is not responsible for his or her family situation or economic circumstances.  Financial support should always be available for the disadvantaged and most vulnerable, who suffer in the shadows with their disease, but also their dreams…
 
CALUNA’S FOUNDATION was established to ensure that the Social Fund of EPS M’Bour always has sufficient funds to guarantee access to care for every child.  This is our biggest concern and of vital importance to all the children with cancer who need it so much.
 
“Every child should always have access to medical care!”
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Treatment for a child with cancer in Africa is estimated at around € 2,000 per hospitalisation, with half of this going towards the medication, lab and blood tests, scans and miscellaneous medical supplies, on top of the operation, treatment and accommodation costs.
 
The government also contributes part of the costs for children up to the age of five, as long as the proper administrative route has been taken, including a doctor’s referral.  Other partners also contribute by providing free medication, such as the medication for chemotherapy.
 
Unfortunately, however, the hospital bill for the full care and treatment of a child with cancer – the examinations, the lab tests, the scans, the operations and other accommodation and relocation costs – remains too high and unaffordable for most families.
 
This was why CALUNA’S FOUNDATION was established, and we call upon your generosity so that every child who suffers from CANCER gets the medical care and treatment it needs.  The life of a child should never depend on the economic circumstances of its family

​Help us ensure that this Social Fund always has the necessary funds, so that every child with cancer has access to care and because every child with cancer should have the same opportunity for recovery!
 
Make a donation or become a loyal friend!

GOALS

The primary goal is to optimise the department and to ensure that only specialised, high-quality care is provided, by a team with a passion for paediatrics and special training in oncology.  This highly attentive team will follow a pedagogic approach, always listening and focusing on the needs of the child so that each and every one has the same opportunity for recovery.  
 
During the child’s stay, whether it is short or long, we place a lot of emphasis on the child’s experience, as a hospital stay can be traumatic for both the child and parents.  Children are often left behind alone or with only one parent, far away from brothers and sisters, and far away from home.  On top of this, the cancer treatment is very taxing and no easy experience for a child.  For all of these reasons, we will see to it that every child is surrounded by an attentive and empathetic team of doctors and nurses who will provide all the necessary care and attention.
 
The children will be given a room with a private toilet, which is an uncommon luxury in Senegal.  They will also receive well-balanced meals, made in our own kitchen so as to prevent any contamination of the water or food.  Furthermore, they will be given psychological assistance and support in a child-friendly setting where they can play and interact with other children, and where they will be given all the attention they need during their stay.
 
Future investments and goals for optimising the centre:
 
Awareness campaigns: We will conduct awareness campaigns to promote the early diagnosis of cancer.  This is an important investment for improving the detection of cancer in its early stages in children, which increases the chances of recovery by 70%.  This is quite literally a matter of life and death.
 
There is an urgent need for using awareness campaigns to make the medical world in Senegal – from nurses at rural medical outposts to doctors and, in particular, paediatricians – more sensitive to recognising or suspecting the presence of cancer in children.  In this way, the necessary tests can be performed at an early stage.  They are the ones who can increase the child’s chances of recovery.  Parents know little to nothing about the disease that could be afflicting their child, and they also often have to take other family and economic matters into account.  As it is, there is usually quite a delay before the first visit is made to the doctor.  It is therefore the doctor’s responsibility to immediately conduct a thorough examination in order to faster detect and assess the possible presence of cancer.  When cancer is diagnosed during its primary stage, the child has every opportunity to recover!
 
                                                             Every child needs your support!

A parent's home
​This home will consist of 20 individual rooms with their own toilet facilities, as well as a common kitchen and living room.
 
The living conditions of the parents is very difficult during the hospitalisation of their child.  First comes the diagnosis of ‘cancer’, followed by treatments that can last for a long time, up to six months.  It is usually too far and too expensive for the parents to return to the village.
 
This facility is necessary in order to prevent disruption or overburdening of the hospital’s functioning or services by children who do not require 24-hour care occupying an individual room instead of a child who does require permanent care.  Some patients only need to make repeat visits to the outpatient clinic but are unable to travel back home every day.  These children will be able to stay in the “parents’ home” with their parents.
 
This house will also accommodate those parents who would like to remain close to the hospital and their child because their child has been placed in an isolation room.  In short, the house is for parents who cannot travel back home during the period of treatment.
 
It will be a pleasant domestic setting where children can stay with a parent and recuperate in between chemotherapy treatment or a safe haven for the parents of children who are in the palliative care department.
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                                                     Every child needs your support!

Mobile nursing van
To ensure that chemotherapy treatments are not interrupted, we plan to operate a fully equipped mobile nursing van in order to make ‘home deliveries’ to residents of the region.
 
Given the distances, family difficulties and side effects of the treatment, it is not always possible for some parents to follow the treatment as prescribed.  This lack of therapy compliance reduces the child’s chances of recovery.
 
Parents from the region who face such difficulties and, as a result, are unable to follow the recovery programme as scheduled will be able to make use of the special “mobile nurse” who will see to it that the chemotherapy continues to be administered at home.  This service will be available within a 25 km radius of the hospital.
 
Punctual compliance with the treatment programme has been proven to be very important.  For this reason, we want to invest in this extra service for the added value it contributes to saving as many children as possible!

                                                     Every child needs your support!

Entertainment and excursions for the children
​It is important for the children to be able to express themselves creatively, and for this reason we will provide them with an assortment of creative material, so that they can discover their talents and take their minds off of their disease.  At the same time, we will also occasionally invite various kinds of artists (there are many different kinds in Senegal) to come visit the hospital to help break the monotony of the children’s stay and help them forget the pain they are suffering.
 
For those children who are capable of participating, we would like to organise occasional excursions outside the walls of the hospital: from visiting a zoo to spending a few hours at the beach or at a swimming pool.  Children in the palliative care department are the main inspiration for these excursions, as it is a way of allowing them to make and share some nice memories with their parents.

                                                    Every child needs your support!

Internships / volunteers
Some of our partnerships with hospitals in Belgium will lead to exchanges of doctors, residents and nurses in training in paediatrics and paediatric oncology, in particular.  As part of these exchanges, Senegalese residents will be able to follow internships or training courses in Belgium.  These training courses are vital for teaching them the treatments, the approaches and the latest techniques with a view to optimising care.
Obviously, these internships and training courses require accompanying budgets for travel and accommodation expenses and on-site support in Belgium.
 
Belgian doctors who would like to volunteer for a time at the Paediatric Oncology department in Senegal are likewise of a great added value and assistance.  The hospital will provide them with free accommodation and meals, while they will need to pay for their other expenses.

                                                     Every child needs your support!​

Research center
This hospital will also administer highly innovative treatments, such as immunotherapy, to combat very aggressive cancers and thus optimise the chances of recovery.  This department will also serve as a research centre for childhood cancer, in the hopes of improving cancer treatment across the continent and potentially discovering and developing new therapies.


                                                     Every child needs your support!​

Training center
Given that this Paediatric Oncology department will be the largest in Africa, we also want to put it to the best use possible as a training centre for doctors, nurses, surgeons, pharmacists and oncologists in order to greatly improve the circumstances of children with cancer across Africa in the years to come.

                                                      Every child needs your support!​

Help us fund these necessary projects to optimise the centre.
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Make a spontaneous donation or become a loyal friend!