SKMCH Kindergarten Graduation Ceremony: January 2016

One in 12 patients diagnosed with cancer at Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital (SKMCH) is a child.

For several months now, many of our child patients have been taking a kindergarten course while receiving treatment in hospital. January 2016 marked the completion of their studies. In celebration of their efforts, their achievements and their strength of spirit despite all the odds, SKMCH staff held a graduation ceremony for all our students.

The stigma associated with cancer in Pakistan is so great that many patients at SKMCH aren’t comfortable about disclosing their identity. Furthermore, most of our child patients are forced to drop out of school while undergoing active treatment. For those who never went to school to begin with, education is just another far-off luxury. Understandably, all of this takes a huge toll on the morale of patients, and many of them suffer a significant loss of confidence.

At SKMCH, we have play therapists for our child patients. We also run a Hospital Schooling Program, which enables child patients patients to carry on learning while they receive treatment. In some where a child patient never went to school to begin with, it provides him/her with the opportunity to receive an education for the first time.

The SKMCH Schooling Program does wonders for the morale and self-esteem of our child patients, which is vital for recovery. The program also gives children the encouragement to pursue their studies after recovery.