Cancer in Kenya: Giving a real chance of recovery

To all our esteemed donors and supporters.

We are pleased to share with you our 2019 financial report. This is in line with our strategic objective of managing our charity as effectively and efficiently as possible. In order to deliver our strategic plan, we invest in three key areas of our charity –Our People, Our Fundraising and Our Communications.

As Faraja, we express our gratitude to all our donors and partners who have walked the journey of support with us. 

 2019 Financial Highlights

In this financial year, we raised a total of Kshs12,853,291 ($ 128, 532) a 67% increase from 2018 when we raised  Kshs.8,684,205 ( $ 86, 842)  from fundraising events, donations, and fundraisers held by Friends of Faraja.

We also raised Kshs7,734,980 ( $ 77, 350)  for our medical fund bringing our total income to Kshs 20,588,271 ( $ 205, 882)

Fundraising Activities

White Water rafting

Our 2018 White Water Rafting Challenge registered 43 teams, saw 350 spectators and raised Kshs6.3 million,( $63,000) a 61% improvement from 2017 when we registered 39 teams and raised Kshs3.9 million. An increase in the amount fundraised was mainly due to additional silver sponsors and more teams fundraising over and above the minimum registration fee. Thank you to our silver sponsors: Simba Corp, Kenchic, Chloride Exide, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Chandaria Foundation, Great Rift Valley Lodge and Sarova Hotels. We are grateful to Savage Wilderness Camp for hosting us for the 6^th year running.

Kenya’s Biggest Coffee Morning (KBCM)

The 2018 Coffee Morning registered new hosts such as Nairobi Bottlers, Cheki, and the Jivanjee family. We also had new schools partnering with us notably: Rosslyn Academy and Peponi School.

We registered 34 hosts and raised Kshs3million. This initiative is growing in popularity and next year we are hoping to grow the number of hosts. You can read more about our event by going to the KBCM website: http://kbcm.farajacancersupport.org/

 Christmas Cricket Cracker

On December 1st and 2nd, December 2018, Jason Holley and his brother Jeremy organized another Christmas Cricket Cracker at the Nairobi Club. This the second year a total of Kshs350,000 ( $3500) was raised for the Faraja Medical Support Fund (FMSF).

 Family Fun Run

For the 2^nd year, on 19^th of January 2019, Faraja Club of International School of Kenya (ISK) organized a family fun run at their Nairobi Campus. They raised a total of $ 3,647.14 for FMSF. Their goal is to raise $10,000 so that they can support one patient, every year, forever. The aim of the club is to create awareness about the risk factors and early signs of cancer.

 Miles For Shillings (Miles4Kshs)

Rachael Gitonga who is an avid runner is doing a running campaign to raise funds for Faraja. The Miles4Kshs campaign aims to raise money through mileage covered from the miles she runs from January to September 2019. The climax of the campaign will be when she runs the Berlin Marathon in September 2019.

Rachael’s target is 2500Kms and all proceeds will go towards the Faraja Medical Support Fund.

Our Programs in Focus

Faraja Medical Support Fund (FMSF)

This year the Medical Support Fund raised Kshs7,734,980( $ 77,350). Having raised a total of Kshs 93 million in previous years, FMSF reached a milestone by reaching Kshs100 million on 14^th November 2018 well within the two years target.

In the 2018 financial year, Kshs12millon of the income from the fund was used to support children and adults with cancer in Kenya. A total Kshs8,738,385 ($ 87, 383) was spent for supporting 93 patients; Out of the 93, 30 were children, 16 were men and 47 were women. Out of the 47 women, 6 were beneficiaries of the Natalie Fund.

Support Groups

This year we have seen an increase in support group attendance. We also began our 7^th support group in January 2019, Young Survivor’s Hangout, which records about 30 teenagers and young adults.

Therapies

We have added three new wellness therapies to our programs namely: Facial Distortion Model (FDM), Diversional Therapy (such as beadwork, knitting, and crotchet), and meditation and mindfulness. As a result of adding these therapies and increasing the number of massage therapists, nutritionists, lymphatic drainage practitioners and counselors Faraja was able to better serve the needs of patients. We were also able to reach 34 more patients per week which added up to 1632 more patients than in the previous year.

Here is a testimony from one of our patients who has greatly benefited from our free support services. Click here

Therapists and Volunteers

The number of therapists who volunteer at Faraja increases from 19 to 29 and our volunteers from 15 to 42. This has helped us improve our services to patients and caregivers at our center in Nairobi and Eldoret and at our outreach program at Kenyatta.

Since we opened our new center in Eldoret in November 2018 we have 3 regular therapists and 27 volunteers who help us weekly with our patients and caregivers.

Crafts for Cure

Over the last one year, Faraja reached a total of 5,376 children between the ages of 3 and 14 at the Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) pediatric wards 1e, 3, 4a, 9d through music therapy on Wednesday and art therapy on Friday. This year we added new fun activities such as a movie day and art master class.

“I love dancing, I am always happy when the music group comes on Wednesday.” from a 12-year-old girl with leukemia from ward 1e and who has been receiving treatment for the last one and a half years. She is one of the many children who we impact through our services.

In June 2018, two additional fruit shops have come on board to support our weekly contribution of apples to the children at KNH pediatric wards. The total donation of apples from May 2018 to April 2019 is valued at Ksh277,000 ( $ 27,000)

Special Thanks

Finally, we express our gratitude to Faraja Trustees, Staff, Volunteers, Therapists, Donors, Friends and Partners for the continued service and support to Faraja and our patients and caregivers. A special thank you to some therapists who have been with us for the last 6 years but have relocated. Thank you to Zira (Reflexology), Jean (Body Talk), Marieke (Lymphatic Drainage) and Rita (Reflexology). 

We especially want to appreciate the good service we received from Arwa Kapacee who was, until April 2019, our Finance and Administration Manager for the last 6 years. Arwa leaves us to start a new chapter in Canada with her husband. We wish her the very best in her endeavors.

 We welcome three new staff members: Judy Wakio (Finance and Administration), Maureen Kimwattan (Administrator-Eldoret) and Lowry Achieng (FMSF-Officer

Links:

• Kenya's Biggest Coffee Morning Website
• White Water Rafting Website
• Faraja Financial Reports

Monica's Story

Monica, 40, mother to Napot says that he used to cry a lot as a newborn. She has other older children, but they were not as fussy as Napot when he was a baby. "He will calm down when he grows up," she would say to herself and true to form he stopped crying until August 2018, a few months after his third birthday, he started crying again this time day and night.  Frustrated by his inability to identify what his problem was, Maureen one day stripped him naked him and checked him all over. She noticed with horror that his stomach had a lump, a hard mass that she had never been there before. She informed her husband who advised her to take him to the women in the village for a tummy massage, a common cultural practice.

Monica chose to take him to the hospital instead.  Accompanied by one of her older daughters, she went to the nearest hospital in Kapenguria, West Pokot County.  After a physical examination, the medical personnel referred Napot to another hospital in Kitale. They went back home, borrowed busfare and went to Kitale the following day. In Kitale, they did a thorough physical assessment and referred her to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret. Monica called her husband and together, they sourced for money and travelled to Eldoret.

At MTRH, Napot was admitted and had tests done. The results revealed that he had cancer of the kidney known as nephroblastoma, a common cancer among children. He went through surgery to remove the tumour and has 6 cycles of chemotherapy treatment which was catered for by government insurance ( NHIF).  His consulting doctor however advised that he should have radiotherapy treatment done which, at that time,  was only available in Nairobi.

Caroline's Story

In September of 2018, 5-year-old Naima was her usual playful self, running around their home in Busia town, Western Kenya, when she fell down. She could not stop crying, saying that her stomach hurt a lot.  Her mother, Caroline, 34, believed that a stone might have hurt Naima and that the pain would eventually subside. It did not. After a night of crying, Caroline took Naima to the hospital the following morning. Naima was still crying in pain. Tests did not reveal anything, though the doctor noticed a lump on Naima’s tummy.

A different doctor, on examining Naima recommended further tests at a different hospital. She informed Caroline that she suspected Naima had cancer of the kidney but that this would be best diagnosed at MTRH  in Eldoret. The doctor ordered an ambulance to take them from Busia to Eldoret, where tests confirmed the kidney cancer diagnosis. Thankfully the ambulance was covered by NHIF.

Naima stayed in the hospital for six weeks and underwent surgery and chemotherapy treatment. Caroline is a housewife while her husband is a casual worker. He had taken the NHIF cover which paid for Naima’s treatment. But when they were informed that they needed to pay for radiotherapy treatment in Nairobi, Caroline and her husband felt helpless.

The meeting of in Nairobi

Faraja works closely with a social worker at MTRH called Sandra. Sandra referred both Napot and Naima's case to us for possible consideration of funding. After review from the Faraja Medical Support Fund panel, our Patient Support Manager Phillip called Sandra and gave her the good news, their entire radiotherapy treatment would be catered for by Faraja.

“There was no way to raise the money for radiotherapy. We also did not know anyone in Nairobi. When we got the call from Faraja, I felt like God gave me another chance to raise my son again. I can only ask God to bless the Faraja family because they gave me hope. Without their intervention, I know things would have been really bad.” Says Caroline.

“The thought that my son will look healthy again gives me peace of mind and I know that he shall be completely healed,” Monica says, adding that Faraja should continue touching more lives.

Caroline and Monica met for the first time at a bus stop in downtown Nairobi at 6 am on 7th November 2018. Since they were housed at the same hostel, they became close friends and their children even closer. During the day, Napot and Naima would hold hands as they walked into the hospital, smiling shyly, as they sauntered to the nurse's desk. At night, they would play together until late, much to the chagrin of their sleepy mothers.

As per the date of publishing this article, we learnt that Naima is doing well but sadly Napot's tumour recurred and metastasized to the brain.