Oncology

St Jude Opens Cancer Care Centre

It’s the third centre inaugrated in Mumbai for children suffering from cancer

Julio Ribeiro and Nihal Kaviratne at St Jude Centre with cancer children

St Jude India ChildCare Centre in association with Indian Cancer Society, inaugurated its third centre, The McKinsey Kinderhilfe Centre in Mumbai in the presence of Nihal Kaviratne, CBE, Founder of St Jude India ChildCare Centres, Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, India's leading investor, Julio Ribeiro, Former Commissioner of Police and Thomas Netzer, representing McKinsey Kinderhilfe.

Said Kaviratne, "We do not seek to duplicate the work of St Jude’s. We draw down on their due diligence, source our occupants through them and stay in continuous contact with them for advice and mutual support. Our work is concentrated on the physical needs and emotional needs. We seek to influence behavior, and help speed recovery, thereby facilitating the success of the work in the first Circle."

The Centres managed by St Judes India are meant exclusively for children (and accompanying parents) who come to Mumbai for the treatment of serious diseases such as cancer. Operations are monitored by a project team made up of volunteers, with the help of a number of supporters, and a small staff of paid employees.

Whilst hospitals are able to provide therapy to the most needy of children in India through the generosity of a plethora of charities, the children and parents often have no place to stay and have to 'sleep rough' on the streets. St Judes provides an environment that ensures the treatment is effective and allows the children to convalesce. The centre aims to bridge this gap to help children recover in a ChildCare Centre, whilst also helping the families to care for and educate their children as well as to provide counselling for the families during this traumatic experience.

"I was deeply touched by the hope that the Founders of St Jude were giving to children and parents who earlier suffered the dual trauma of living on the streets while coming to Mumbai for cancer treatment. The children were already being treated free of cost by the Tata Memorial hospital and the Indian Cancer Society was offering space free of cost. I felt our Foundation's contribution would complement the efforts of the above institutions, " said Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, the investor whose R Jhunjhunwala Foundation funded the second centre.

Since the opening of its first prototype model centre in April 2006, over 200 children and their parents (including returnees) have been admitted and have benefited from the holistic care provided by St Judes India. It has managed a 98 per cent plus occupancy rate. The children who are provided with the accommodation are in the age group of six months to 12 years. The families come from rural Maharashtra, North India (Uttar Pradesh, Jharkand) and East India (Bihar, Orissa, West Bengal and Assam). The families comprise of farmers, small shopkeepers and school teachers with really low-income levels.

EH News Bureau