Physical Health South Africa Project #65392

Gifting hope to children with cancer!

by CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa

Project Report | Oct 9, 2026
Fuelling Hope! Fuelling Treatment! Every Trip Matt

By Nirupa Kasserchun | National Fundraiser

The Fuelling Hope Campaign was established to address one of the practical barriers that can prevent children and teenagers with cancer and life-threatening blood disorders from accessing essential treatment: the cost of getting to and from hospital. For families living in poverty, repeated taxi, bus or other transport costs can place treatment continuity at risk. Children may need to travel significant distances for chemotherapy, radiation, follow-up appointments, investigations and other essential healthcare services, while parents and carers may have reduced or no income while caring for a seriously ill child. CHOC's Transport Financial Assistance Programme provides targeted financial assistance to help families meet these travel costs and reach the healthcare services required during their treatment journey.

The campaign communicates this need through a simple message: Every trip to treatment matters.

Transport assistance forms part of CHOC's broader Comprehensive Child & Family Support Programme, with CHOC providing match-funded support across accommodation, nutrition, bereavement and practical family assistance.

2. JULY–SEPTEMBER 2026 IMPACT AT A GLANCE

During the three-month reporting period, CHOC provided:
Indicator July–September 2026
People Served: 3,540
Transport disbursements issued: 4,093
Total transport assistance: R527,023 / $31,608.46
Average assistance per disbursement: R128.79 / $7.72
Average monthly disbursements: 1,364
Average monthly financial assistance: R175,674 / $10,536

The 4,093 disbursements represent individual instances of financial assistance supporting children and their families to access necessary healthcare. The average assistance of approximately R129 demonstrates how relatively modest amounts can address an immediate barrier to treatment access.

3. CHOC MATCH-FUNDED CONTRIBUTION
The transport assistance was complemented by CHOC's own match-funded investment in the wider support needs of children and families during the same reporting period:
Match-funded support July–September 2026
Financial bereavement support 84 disbursements: R84,000/$5,038
Accommodation: 7,038 bednights
Meals: 21,114
Food parcels and vouchers: 907 valued at R401,684 / $24,091
Beneficiaries reached through food support: 9,510
Carebags: 204
Houses and Lodges: 13

This contribution demonstrates CHOC's investment in addressing the broader practical pressures associated with childhood cancer treatment. Accommodation enables families to remain close to treatment, nutritional assistance helps meet food needs during prolonged treatment, and practical and bereavement support responds to other financial and emotional pressures experienced by families.

4. WHAT THE FUNDING ENABLED
Childhood cancer treatment requires repeated engagement with healthcare services over an extended period. Families may need to travel for chemotherapy, radiation, clinical reviews, scans, blood tests, procedures and other treatment-related appointments. The transport assistance provided during July–September helped families meet these immediate travel costs, reducing one practical barrier to attending scheduled healthcare appointments.
The broader CHOC support package complements this assistance. Families who need to remain near treatment can access accommodation and meals, while food parcels and vouchers provide additional nutritional support. This integrated approach recognises that the barriers affecting treatment continuity are often interconnected.

5. TRANSPORT AND TREATMENT CONTINUITY
Transport financial assistance is a critical enabler within CHOC's Comprehensive Child & Family Support Programme. A child may have access to specialist oncology treatment, but the treatment cannot be accessed if the family cannot afford the journey to the healthcare facility. By providing targeted financial assistance, CHOC helps address this immediate socioeconomic barrier. The 4,093 transport disbursements delivered during the reporting period therefore represent practical interventions that supported continued access to prescribed healthcare.
CHOC's match-funded accommodation further assists families facing distance-related barriers, particularly where remaining close to a treatment centre is necessary. Together, these interventions help families navigate the practical demands of a lengthy treatment journey.

6. THE HUMAN SIGNIFICANCE OF EVERY TRIP
For a family experiencing financial hardship, the cost of a single journey can compete with other essential household needs. Transport assistance helps reduce the likelihood that a family will have to choose between meeting basic household needs and getting their child to a scheduled treatment appointment. The programme supports:
• Access to specialised paediatric oncology services.
• Attendance at scheduled treatment and follow-up appointments.
• Reduced financial pressure on vulnerable families.
• Dignity in meeting an essential treatment-related cost.
• Treatment adherence by addressing a practical barrier to accessing care.
The significance of the programme therefore extends beyond the rand value of each disbursement: it helps make access to treatment more achievable for families experiencing financial hardship.

7. CAMPAIGN PERFORMANCE
The July–September results demonstrate substantial and recurring demand for transport assistance. CHOC issued 4,093 transport disbursements, providing R527,023 / $31,608.46 in assistance. This equates to an average of more than 1,360 disbursements per month. The campaign's original funding proposition of $6 / approximately R100 was designed to demonstrate how a relatively small contribution can help remove an immediate barrier to treatment. The programme data shows an actual average disbursement of approximately R129 during the reporting period. The results also demonstrate the scale of CHOC's own investment in complementary support, with match-funded accommodation, meals, food assistance, Carebags and bereavement support provided alongside the transport intervention.

8. CONTRIBUTION TO REDUCING TREATMENT ABANDONMENT
Treatment abandonment in childhood cancer is influenced by multiple factors, including socioeconomic circumstances, distance from healthcare services and the practical costs associated with maintaining treatment. Transport assistance does not, by itself, eliminate treatment abandonment. It does, however, address one identifiable and potentially modifiable barrier: the inability to afford travel to treatment and related healthcare appointments. By providing timely assistance, CHOC seeks to reduce the likelihood that financial hardship will prevent a child from reaching the care they need. The 4,093 disbursements delivered during the reporting period therefore represent tangible support for continued access to treatment.
This is strengthened by CHOC's wider support model, which addresses other practical pressures that families may face during prolonged treatment, including the cost of accommodation, food and other essential support.

9. CONCLUSION
Between July and September, the Fuelling Hope Campaign provided 4,093 transport assistance disbursements valued at R527,023 / $31,608.46, helping families meet the cost of accessing essential healthcare services. The programme was complemented by significant CHOC match funding, including 7,038 bednights, 21,114 meals, 907 food parcels and vouchers valued at R401,684, 204 Carebags and 84 bereavement assistance disbursements valued at R84,000/$5,038. Together, this investment reflects an integrated approach to supporting children and families throughout the treatment journey. Transport assistance addresses the immediate cost of reaching treatment, while CHOC's match-funded support helps address other practical barriers that can affect a family's ability to sustain treatment.

4,093 transport disbursements. R527,023 / $31,608.46 in transport assistance. Every trip matters.

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Jun 10, 2026
FUELLING HOPE, FUELLING TREATMENT, EVERY TRIP MATT

By Nirupa Kasserchun | National Fundraiser

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW
Every week in South Africa, a child begins a long and exhausting journey to fight cancer. for many families supported by CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa, the greatest barrier to survival is not the availability of treatment, It Is the Cost of Getting There!
• Chemotherapy works.
• Radiation saves lives.
• But only if a child can reach the hospital.
When a parent cannot afford taxi fare, a life-saving appointment is missed. And when appointments are missed, survival chances decrease. At CHOC, we believe deeply and unequivocally: No child should miss treatment because a parent cannot afford transport. This belief drives our national Fuelling Hope Campaign on GlobalGiving, a focused initiative ensuring that transport costs never stand between a child and their chance at survival.

PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
During the reporting period of 1 March to 30 April 2026, CHOC provided 2,724 transport financial assistance grants to the value of R330,539/$19,976. Transport financial assistance was provided to vulnerable children and carers requiring support to access treatment, follow-up appointments, hospital admissions, and maintenance treatment visits at paediatric oncology and haematology units across South Africa.

OUTCOMES ACHIEVED
The programme successfully reduced financial barriers to treatment access by enabling children and caregivers to travel to life-saving treatment appointments that may otherwise have been missed due to affordability constraints.

KEY OUTCOMES ACHIEVED INCLUDE:
• Improved Treatment Adherence
• Transport assistance enabled beneficiaries to attend scheduled treatment appointments, chemotherapy sessions, follow-up consultations, and maintenance treatment visits, reducing the risk of treatment interruption.
• Reduced Risk of Treatment Abandonment
• By alleviating transport costs for vulnerable households, the programme reduced the likelihood of families discontinuing treatment due to financial hardship.
• Increased Access for Underserved Communities
• The programme supported families from rural and low-income communities who often travel significant distances to access specialised paediatric oncology services located in major urban centres.
• Reduced Financial Distress
• Transport assistance helped ease the financial burden on caregivers already facing loss of income, increased household expenses, and the emotional strain associated with a childhood cancer diagnosis.

COMMUNITY IMPACT
The programme contributed directly to equitable access to healthcare by ensuring that financial hardship did not prevent vulnerable children from receiving treatment. For many families, transport assistance represented the difference between attending or missing a critical treatment appointment. The continued demand for transport support highlights the ongoing socio-economic challenges experienced by families affected by childhood cancer. Through this intervention, CHOC was able to provide practical assistance that strengthened continuity of care and improved treatment access for some of South Africa's most vulnerable children.

In Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, CHOC is currently supporting a deeply vulnerable family facing an unimaginable double burden of illness. A mother, herself living with stage 4 breast cancer, is also the primary carer to her young child who has been diagnosed with T-cell high-risk Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL). Both mother and child are on palliative and end-of-life treatment pathways, with the child currently receiving salvage chemotherapy aimed at slowing disease progression and providing comfort and stability. Despite their critical health conditions, the child must attend treatment twice a week at a paediatric oncology unit in Durban. However, the family faces significant barriers to accessing care. Due to their circumstances, the child cannot travel alone, yet the father is unable to accompany them as he risks losing his employment if he leaves work for prolonged periods. This leaves the mother, already physically weakened by her own illness, as the only possible caregiver to accompany her child to treatment. CHOC has stepped in to ensure that this family can continue accessing life-sustaining care. Through the Transport Financial Assistance Programme, CHOC covers the cost of travel to and from treatment twice weekly. In addition, the family receives food parcels to ease the burden of household food insecurity during this period of extreme vulnerability. Beyond material support, CHOC’s psychosocial team provides ongoing emotional and therapeutic support to help the family cope with fear, grief, exhaustion, and the uncertainty of dual diagnoses within one household. This holistic support ensures that neither the mother nor child faces this journey alone. This story reflects the lived reality of many families supported by CHOC—where poverty, illness, and distance intersect. Without transport assistance and integrated care, consistent treatment would not be possible. With support, this family is able to maintain dignity, access care, and hold onto connection during an extraordinarily difficult chapter of their lives.

CONCLUSION
Transport financial assistance remains one of the most impactful interventions within CHOC's Comprehensive Child and Family Support Programme. During the reporting period, 2,724 transport grants valued at R330,539/$19,976 helped ensure that children and teenagers with cancer and life-threatening blood disorders could continue accessing essential treatment and follow-up care.
By removing financial barriers to treatment access, the programme contributed to improved treatment adherence, reduced treatment abandonment, and strengthened survival prospects for children across South Africa.

Prepared by:
Nirupa Kasserchun
National Fundraiser
CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa
086 111 3500 / 084 437 8915
nirupak@choc.org.za

Attachments:

CHOC_GLOBAL_GIVING_REPORT__JUNE_26.pdf (PDF)

1 Attachment

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Feb 11, 2026
Gifting hope to children with cancer!

By Nirupa Kasserchun | National Fundraiser

On behalf of the children and teenagers with cancer, their families, and the entire CHOC team, we extend our sincere gratitude to GlobalGiving for its continued partnership in keeping more than hope alive.

During the October–December 2025 period, CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation South Africa delivered life-saving psychosocial and practical support to vulnerable families despite a constrained funding climate and the ripple effects of reduced international donor funding. Through donor generosity, CHOC directly served 1,257 children and teenagers and supported an estimated 1,571 parents and caregivers across South Africa.

Programme Impact & Strengthened Accountability

CHOC continued to mitigate barriers to treatment including deep rural poverty, long travel distances, chemotherapy shortages, stigma, and fragile public health systems.

Key developments included the phased implementation of a Salesforce CRM system, strengthening monitoring, evaluation, and accountability. The system now captures patient-level data, with household-level integration underway. This enhancement enables CHOC to quantify the direct household impact of food parcels and vouchers, improving evidence-based reporting and demonstrating clear donor return on impact.

Provincial Human Impact

Eastern Cape: R79,330 in transport assistance supported 337 beneficiaries, with families travelling up to R500 per trip to access care.
North West (Rustenburg/Pokeng): Social Workers managed complex cases involving stigma, unemployment, orphaned children, and reliance on SASSA grants while ensuring treatment continuity.
Free State & Northern Cape: Increased referrals following the departure of a Northern Cape specialist led to a 200 bed-night increase at CHOC Bloemfontein House and greater transport and Carebag demand. Cross-border late-stage diagnoses from Lesotho have also increased. An additional Social Worker in the Free State is urgently needed.

Green Economy & Sustainability

Donor investment enabled CHOC to advance its green economy strategy, strengthening resilience and reducing operational costs:

Water Conservation

16 JoJo tanks installed across 9 CHOC Houses (1,000–20,000L capacity).
Rainwater harvesting and boreholes enhance water security.
Significant municipal savings achieved in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State.

Solar Energy

Solar installed at 9 CHOC Houses (7.2–15 kWh capacity).
Electricity costs significantly reduced, with Free State showing the most pronounced savings.
Savings are redirected toward life-saving programmes.

These initiatives protect service delivery while reducing exposure to rising utility costs.

Job Protection & Service Continuity

In a challenging funding climate, donor support protected 99 staff positions nationally, including 53 direct care staff serving 6,134 beneficiaries annually and supporting approximately 1,000 new diagnoses each year. CHOC’s skilled workforce bridges critical gaps in psychosocial, emotional, and practical support that families cannot navigate alone.

Early Detection & Community Capacity Building

CHOC strengthened early diagnosis pathways through:

Training of 45 healthcare workers in Mpumalanga.
A Traditional Health Practitioners Open Day (120 attendees), fostering collaboration between traditional and western medicine to improve early referral of childhood cancers.

These engagements enhance trust in health systems and directly contribute to earlier detection and improved survival outcomes.

Festive Support & Remembrance

During the emotionally demanding festive season, donor funding enabled CHOC to host Christmas celebrations, provide meals and gifts, and ensure no child felt forgotten. Remembrance services offered sacred spaces of healing and dignity for families who have lost a child, reinforcing CHOC’s commitment to compassionate, holistic care.

Governance & Donor Assurance

In line with updated SARS regulations, CHOC issues either a Section 18A tax certificate or an SED confirmation per donation. CHOC ensures full compliance, transparent documentation, and alignment with donor objectives, maintaining ethical stewardship and measurable social and environmental returns.

Conclusion

Amid reduced international funding and heightened sector pressure, GlobalGiving’s support has enabled CHOC to safeguard treatment access, protect jobs, strengthen sustainability, and uphold dignity for children with cancer.

Together, we are not only saving lives — we are building resilience and a sustainable future for the children who need it most.

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