Nigeria: 6km charity walk to support children fighting Cancer

In a bid to create awareness on early cancer detection on children the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation in Abuja, Nigeria held a 6km charity walk to support children fighting cancer. This year’s walk which is the seventh edition is tagged- Steps to survival for children fighting cancer.

The meaningful event was aimed towards making a difference in the lives of children battling cancer, the group said if children are detected on time, their chances of survival increase a great deal.

The founder of the foundation, Kemi Adekoya said the major problem with childhood cancer is lack of awareness.

“The more we create the awareness, the more we get events like this, the more people get to know about children battling cancer and the more they can also support these children. There are people here today who have never met a childhood surviving cancer patient, and meeting one today will encourage them to do more and support people with cancer, ”.Said Kemi Adekoya, Founder, Okapi Children Cancer Foundation.

Head of Management, Okapi Cancer foundation, Dr Ozi Okonokhua said the walk is to create awareness on children's cancer and educate people that cancer is treatable. According to him, the walk is creating a good impact on people.

“ We have what we call a charity shop, in that shop, when people come and they give us donations, we reward them with items in the shops. So it's actually people that help us to raise funds. The funds we use to help these children comes from rewards from T-shirts that people buy from us. So it’s actually from the general public, that is where we get the funds, we appeal to friends and loved ones and they support us, he added.”

The group say the event is a way to show support and solidarity towards young warriors fighting against cancer. By participating in the walk, participants will contribute to raising awareness and funds for their treatment, giving them a chance to fight and survive.

A child survivor, Tobi Hope encouraged other children to get tested and not to lose hope adding there is hope for cancer patients.

“ When our money finished, our doctor had to introduce us to the Okapi Children Cancer Foundation, they supported us with all they had and God used them to make me alive today.

According to Titilayo Moses-Ehi, Secretary Board of Trustees, Okapi Children Cancer Foundation is a non-governmental organization that helps to fight cancer in children between ages 0-18 years, She said the foundation currently works with the National Hospital, Abuja and the Teaching hospital in Gwagwalada, Abuja.

“Currently we have about 40 children that the foundation is supporting with health care services.

It would be recalled that in 2020, almost 125,000 people were diagnosed with cancer in Nigeria and almost 79,000 died from the disease.