The Faraja Medical Support Fund

Kenya has a population of about 53 million people and every year, 48,000 Kenyans are diagnosed with Cancer which means 132 Kenyans per day.  Unsurprisingly, Cancer is the 3^rd cause of death after infectious and cardiovascular diseases. According to the latest statistics, the mortality rate is high with 56% (27,000) dying per annum.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) also known as bowel cancer is the third most common cancer worldwide and the second leading cause of cancer death. While CRC incidence and death are decreasing in the US and UK, in sub-Saharan African, they are on the rise. According to the 2020 Globocan statistics, 1,546 Kenyans were diagnosed with colon cancer and sadly 75% (1,159) died from it. According to Dr. Sitma Mohammed of Aga Khan University Hospital, there are probably more cases of colon cancer in Kenya that may have gone unreported. This means the incidences are higher than what has been projected. Of the 1,546 deaths in Kenya due to CRC in 2020, the most devastating one was Frank Kamau, my dad and this is about him. 

My name is Ann Kamau and I plan to scale Africa’s 2^nd highest mountain Mt Kenya standing at 5,199 meters from April 1-4, 2021.  I shall do this to raise funds for Faraja Cancer Support Trust (www.farajacancersupport.org). Faraja is a registered charity that offers free support and care to children and adults with cancer in Kenya. Through their medical fund, I aim to set up the Frank Kamau Fund in loving memory of my father, Papa as we fondly called him. The fund will not only support patients with colorectal cancer but will also supply stoma bags for needy patients as well as assist those with nutrition challenges. With your help, I aim to raise KSh10, 000,000. How will we do it? Together, one step, one hill, one mountain at a time. 

While the loss of Papa was completely devastating for our family, it also brought to light how blessed and privileged we were that we could afford to take care of him to the day he breathed his last surrounded by his family at home on May 5th, 2020. Papa had wished to die at home and we granted his wish.  On that day, I hoped and prayed that the pain was finally gone because no human being should have to suffer such agony. I continue to pray to God that I never have to see anyone else go through such pain.  His death happened during the infamous inter-county lockdown in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic so apart from losing him, we could not even grant him a proper send off as the regulations only allowed 15 pax to congregate.  We are hopeful that during his upcoming memorial on May 5th, 2021, we shall be able to have a decent memorial.  

After his departure, as the tears continued to flow and we had to adjust to living without Papa, I realized I needed to engage in an activity that totally exhausted me to keep my sanity.  My insomnia was getting out of hand and the thought of never being able to speak to Papa again was unbearable.  It is during this painful period that I discovered hiking and it became my therapy.  When I am out on the trail, my thoughts always drifted back to Papa and how proud he would be of me, because that is the kind of Father he was, always talking about the achievement of his children to anyone who cared to listen. If you gifted Papa a shirt, the day he wore it anyone he met would know his daughter bought him a shirt. The first time I completed a Hikeathon (walking 50 KMs from Mai Mahiu to Kikuyu in 12 hours) I imagined how the world would never hear the end of this achievement from Papa!

Prior to Papa falling sick I had always seen the words “Battle Bravely Fought” and never gave these words a second thought until we saw my dad fight the monster that’s cancer.  He had been battling this monster officially for 3 years having been diagnosed in July 2017.  He fought bravely but in October 2019, doctors put him on palliative care. Despite this, he still put up a spirited fight, although the disease was relentless. I recall his Oncologist once discussing with another family at the hospital if they needed an additional dose of morphine for their mother and hoped to God we would never get to the Morphine stage to manage pain but it was only a matter of time before morphine became the only food he knew.  That and “Ensure” a protein drink that’s palatable for palliative patients.  Despite the pain and agony brought on by the disease, we could afford to keep him comfortable and be with him doing mundane stuff such as feet massage, comb his hair, cut his nails, and such things that generally gave him a little joy amidst his suffering.  That is not the case for a lot of patients and hence my partnership with Faraja. 

The best care facilities for Cancer are only in Nairobi and a sub-optimal facility at the Moi Teaching Referral Hospital in Eldoret.  Our home is in Nakuru a paltry 154KM from Kenya's capital,  Nairobi so any time Papa needed to be in Nairobi my brother would drive him down a day before, he would get treatment the following day, and depending on the severity of the chemo effects they could drive back or spend a night in Nairobi. We were fortunate that Papa had ready accommodation in Nairobi. Now, picture a patient with no family in Nairobi and who’s relying on a fundraiser, have sold all they had (a piece of land or the only cow they had) for treatment.  While Papa was going through chemo, we met them all.  Patients who had been on a bus overnight to arrive at the hospital early enough and secure a bed for chemotherapy.  Now, picture children whose parents cannot afford medical insurance or a single mother who’s dying leaving 5 children behind and has no chance to make it.  I am doing this for them, we need to do this for them, Papa would want us to do this and he will definitely be nudging me on from Heaven, free from all the pain. 

My “Hike for Hope” target is to raise Ksh10, 000,000 and I am calling on you for your support to do this. Papa was a truly generous man, who went out of his way to help everyone who came to him, and thus we would like to honour his memory by giving Hope to those with cancer in Kenya because most times Hope is all they have.

I come as one but I stand for many. Be part of the change, donate to save the lives of patients with colorectal cancer in Kenya.

[1] https://gco.iarc.fr/today/data/factsheets/populations/404-kenya-fact-sheets.pdf

Links:

• Faraja's main website