#CycleForGold for Additional 200 COVID-19 Impacted Kids with Cancer

80% of children with cancer live in low middle-income countries like India. They have less than a 20% childhood cancer survival rate. In terms of numbers, India accounts for 80,000 cases out of 400.000 cases worldwide. September is Childhood Cancer Awareness month and we are raising funds for holistic care and support for an additional 500 COVID affected children.

The last 18 months of the COVID pandemic has meant that many children had to abandon treatment; lockdowns meant they were unable to make it to the cancer centre. While treating doctors and Civil society organizations are working hard to keep the children on therapies, we are seeing more relapse of treatment, children are coming in more advanced stages of the disease, and a sharp drop in the number of newly registered patients failing to even commence treatment; so many more families who have lost livelihoods are in dire need of full support for treatment. Our medical support budget for the year is rapidly getting exhausted. 25% of the 116 hospitals we partner with each year have already used up most of their annual budgets of support, and we have just passed half the year. We need your help. INR 25,000 per year enables us to hold the hand of one family and provide holistic care and support. That is just 27$ per month. With your support we can reach out to 500 children with cancer who need to come back to treatment NOW!

1. #CycleForGold, a month-long cycling event (10th Sep to 8th Oct). Our goal is to raise INR 1.25 Crores for support for an additional 500 children and also cross a distance of 80,000 KM’s (1 KM for every case of childhood cancer detected in India/ year)

2. Engaging employees of our CSR & Institution partners

3. Building CSR partnerships to together enable the cause

4. Calling upon survivors and parent support group members to join the cause

So far, we have managed to raise funds for 300 children and we now need to urgently raise funds for another 200, otherwise they will be denied treatment and holistic care due to lack of funds.

The Campaign and Project will

1. Provide funds: the more funds we raise, the more children we will be able to support. This is how we will be able to provide equal access to Care for Children with Cancer and their families in the Country. Providing Holistic care to the children will improve Survival Rates, Enable Right to Health and Quality of Life during Cancer treatment and after and Secure the 5 Rights of the health impaired child with cancer - to Health, Education, Childhood, Pain free and Palliative Care and the Right to be Heard

2. Create awareness across sectors in society about Childhood Cancer