DKMS, an international non-profit organisation dedicated to saving the lives of patients with blood cancer, has launched the Wall of Hope campaign in Soweto and Durban.
The campaign was launched before the annual Sunflower Day campaign that will be on September 16, in honour of Childhood Cancer awareness month.
International Agency for Research on Cancer reported that in 2020 there were 510 peadiatric deaths due to cancer, and although stem cell donation gives patients a second chance at life, only 0.04% of eligible South African potential donors are registered to donate.
On Sunday it will be World Leukaemia Day, and the campaign is also a memorial tribute to paediatric patients who died as a result of blood cancer.
Working with contemporary artists Skumbuzo Vabaza and Kevin Ngwenya, DKMS Africa unveiled two murals.
Fifteen-year-old Naledi Senamela was diagnosed with leukaemia and passed on in 2021, while eight-year-old Tshegofatso Ralebipi battled with acute lymphocytic leukaemia.
“She was a warrior who left a legacy for people who didn’t know about blood cancers and disorders. Naledi changed the game around awareness within the black community. I want my child to know that through her experience, she left a legacy,” said Naledi’s father, Marcus Senamela.
Vabaza described the project as a “very personal piece” for him, working with four photographs, he explored Tshegofatso’s multifaceted personality.
“My goal was to create a mural that captures all that she was. I wanted to create something for her parents, not only to see joy but also help them revisit the memory of their daughter through this campaign,” said Vabaza.
South Africans are urged to register to become blood stem cell donors with DMKS to help save lives by visiting dmks.africa.org.
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