World Child Cancer shared a post on LinkedIn:
“For Tamika, hearing that her three-year-old daughter had cancer felt like reaching ‘the last bus stop, with nowhere else to turn’.
Earlier this year, Mwayi began experiencing stomach and joint pain, fevers and noticeable paleness. Tamika sought help repeatedly, taking her to their local health centre and district hospital before she was referred to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Malawi.
There, Mwayi was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
‘When the diagnosis was disclosed, I was deeply shaken,’ Tamika says. ‘My understanding of cancer was limited to adults, and the thought of my child facing this illness was overwhelming.’
Alongside this fear came practical worries. Tamika is a mother of five, and the journey to hospital brought additional costs and pressures for her family.
Through World Child Cancer’s Family Support programme, Tamika and Mwayi received a welcome pack containing food and basic hygiene essentials, daily nutritional support and grants towards the cost of travelling to hospital. Mwayi has also been supported through play therapy during her treatment.
‘I am so thankful for the support that I have received,’ Tamika says. ‘Immediately I arrived here, I was given a welcome pack and also nutritional food every morning.’
Mwayi is still undergoing treatment, but Tamika has already seen a welcome change.
‘My daughter has recovered well from the chemotherapy. She no longer complains of pains and plays a lot.’
For a three-year-old, being able to play freely again means so much.
We are deeply grateful to Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung, Amgen, One Kind Act, Austin Bailey Foundation, Reed Foundation and The Faroe Islands for making Family Support for children like Mwayi and their families possible in Malawi.”
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