Improve Quality Childhood Cancer Care in Uganda

In early 2018, Joyce was appointed as the teacher for children with cancer who undergo treatment at St Mary’s Hospital Lacor in Gulu, Uganda. She opened the Rainbow Family Home School within the premises of the Family Home that is located on the hospital’s grounds. As INCTR previously reported, the main goal of the educational program for the children is to enable them to cope with life while undergoing cancer treatment.  The main elements of the curriculum include reading, writing, mathematics, social studies, health and basic English. Recreational and social activities are also major components of the program.

When Joyce began, it was not easy because the children spoke in many local languages and some, although of school-age, had never been in a formal classroom before. One of her earlier decisions was to teach the children in one common language – English. She found that children – of all ages – were eager to learn and many who had missed going to school were more than happy to have the opportunity to keep up with school while away from home.  This was also important to their parents who did not want their children to fall behind other children of the same age.    

Children with some types of cancer, such as Burkitt lymphoma, often present with disfiguring tumors in the facial region. While this cancer rapidly responds to treatment, it can take some time for abnormalities to completely resolve. At the Rainbow Family Home School, the children find that they fit in. Their shyness about their appearances quickly disappear because their fellow students and Joyce warmly welcome them.

The school provides a friendly environment for children to learn and to have emotional support they need - from Joyce and from other children suffering from cancer. Children often need to stay at the Family Home for prolonged periods of time during treatment. The reasons vary from patient to patient, but the most common reason is the long distance and/or the unreliability of transportation (including costs) from home to the hospital that inevitably lead to unnecessary disruptions in or abandonment of treatment when parents wish to return home in-between their child’s treatment cycles to care for their other children and to resume work to sustain their families.  

It should be noted that when the school was opened, St Mary’s management team and staff considered it an “experiment” and were sceptical about it being successful. Their opinions rapidly changed. The Institutional Director recently wrote to say; “The teacher is doing a great job. I see faces of happiness and without INCTR, I would not have envisaged how useful this venture would be”.

Thanks to everyone who has donated so generously to this project. Your donations mean that children with cancer treated at St Mary's have the opportunity to keep up with school and to have recreational and social activities that improve the quality of their lives while undergoing treatment.