Roke Telkom, a telecommunications and cloud solutions provider based in Uganda, has provided material support valued at UGX 7 million to 18 children suffering from cancer. The donation was made to the Bless a Child Foundation in Mbarara City as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility initiative, known as “Roke Gives Back.”
The donated items included a wheelchair, play materials, kitchen utensils, mattresses, and food supplies. Additionally, Roke Telkom’s staff assisted with cleaning, repairing broken windows, fixing faulty electrical wiring, and preparing lunch for the children living at the Bless a Child Foundation.
Ben Ochan, the resident nutritionist and manager of Bless a Child, expressed gratitude for Roke Telkom’s compassionate support to the children in the home. He emphasized that the cost of caring for cancer patients is high, and any additional assistance is greatly appreciated. Ochan praised Roke Telkom for their consistent involvement over the past two years, describing them as instrumental in improving the children’s well-being.
The Bless a Child Foundation faces several challenges, including limited space, limited resources such as food and transportation to and from hospitals for treatment appointments, delayed presentation of cases, and social challenges that sometimes lead parents to abandon treatment midway.
Ochan also shared positive developments, reporting a decrease in treatment abandonment rates from 30% in 2020 to 10% in 2022, with further reductions projected for 2024. He also noted a decrease in the cost of care, increased survival rates, and improved treatment adherence.
Nobert Alinda, the Client Support Manager at Roke Telkom, commended the dedicated staff of the Bless A Child Foundation for their selfless work in supporting the children and their caregivers. He expressed his team’s gratitude for the opportunity to spend time with the children and lauded their strength and resilience in the face of the challenges posed by cancer.
The children and their caregivers were visibly delighted by Roke Telkom’s visit. Brian Mucunguzi, a patient from Kisoro, who has been at the Bless A Child Foundation home since 2021, shared his emotional story. He had been diagnosed with cancer in 2019 and, as an orphan, was taken care of by his grandmother until her passing. Bless A Child found him sleeping outside the hospital, took him in, and has been his home ever since.
Established in 2020, Bless A Child Foundation Mbarara is currently home to 18 children under the age of 16 who have been diagnosed with various types of cancer and are actively receiving treatment. On average, the foundation admits around 150 children each year.
