The Little Fighters Cancer Trust (LFCT) is a Childhood Cancer Support Organisation that strives to relieve some of the heartache and difficulties faced by childhood cancer-affected families. We do this by providing practical & emotional support to children with cancer and their families, while working to raise public awareness of Early Warning Signs of Childhood Cancer throughout South Africa.
The support that LFCT provides is holistic, as we understand that when a child has cancer the whole family is affected. We treat each child with cancer and their family members as individuals; understanding and respecting the uniqueness of each situation.
The Services LFCT offers are divided into 3 focus areas.
1. Hospital Ward Support
- Childhood Cancer Ward visits
- Bags of Hope
- Share the Warmth
- Mother’s Day Gifts
- Break the rules Birthday Bashes
- Christmas ELF project
2. Individual & Family Support
LFCT prioritises providing assistance for the child with cancer at home as well as in the hospital. This assistance includes comfort items, special needs, special foods, mobility aids, etc.
LFCT also provides groceries to individual families affected by childhood cancer in the form of monthly Family Care Packages.
For a full accounting of services provided please see our Individual & Family Support page.
3. Childhood Cancer Awareness
The Little Fighters Cancer Trust advocates CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS via
Distributing Gold Awareness Ribbons & Early Warning Signs of Childhood Cancer cards and A1 laminated posters
- Various campaigns including our September Awareness Campaign
- Informative presentations at schools, crèches, businesses etc.
Approximately 80% of the around 200 000 diagnosed Childhood Cancer cases worldwide are in developing countries, including South Africa.
The severe lack of Awareness surrounding Childhood Cancer reflects in the extremely poor rate of diagnosis; approximately only 33% of Childhood Cancer cases in South Africa are correctly diagnosed.
Earlier diagnosis affords a Child with Cancer a much higher chance of survival as 70% of Childhood Cancers are 100% curable… IF diagnosed in time! Read more HERE.
LFCT Projects
BAG OF HOPE Project
The LFCT BAG OF HOPE Project was initiated in 2010, when it became very clear, after numerous visits to paediatric Oncology Wards, that there is a desperate need for support to the Child with Cancer AND the bedside care-giver, which is usually, the child’s Mother.
The LFCT BAG OF HOPE Project was conceived to provide Children with Cancer in Hospitals and their Bedside Carers with the basics like toiletries, snacks, toys, food, personal hygiene products and more. Read more HERE.
Mother’s Day Project
Mother’s Day is a very special occasion for LFCT because we get to spoil all the mothers who sit, sometimes for months at a time, next to their child’s bedside in a paediatric oncology hospital ward.
Most of these mothers live far from the hospital, which means that many do not get a visitor, a card or a present on Mother’s Day due to the financial strain cancer puts on a family. Read more HERE
Share the Warmth Project
We have recently decided to combine our 3 Winter Warmth projects into
one project – our “Share the Warmth” Project, which includes: our Barefoot for a Day, Get WRAPPED, and Snug as a Bug projects.
All goods distributed to children with cancer are NEW, due to their impaired
immune systems, which make them highly prone to infections. Read more HERE
Christmas Elf Project
The LFCT Christmas Elf Project provides Children with Cancer with Christmas presents which many of them would not have otherwise. For many children this will be the only Christmas presents they will get.
Apart from supporting Individual Children with Cancer, their siblings also get Christmas Gifts and many of these destitute Families are also gifted with a full month’s worth of groceries so that they too can share in the Festive Season without having to worry about where the next meal will come from. Read more HERE
Special Celebrations & Events
The Little Fighters Cancer Trust focuses on a diverse and wide range of support and as the preservation of dignity is a main objective of the work it does, immense effort goes into preventing Children with Cancer and the Families from feeling alienated and forgotten. Special celebrations that the Little Fighters Cancer Trust takes special care to provide for include but are not limited to: Birthdays; Fun Outings; Mother’s Day; Christmas; Funerals. Read more HERE.
Family Care Packages
In excess of 50% of the individual Childhood Cancer-affected families that are supported by the Little Fighters Cancer Trust have lost one income due to the child’s diagnosis. Children with Cancer have to follow a nutritionally specific diet, which is often impossible for families to follow due to lack of funds. With one parent in the hospital for months, sometimes years on end, the sole breadwinner struggles to make ends meet at home. The Little Fighters Cancer Trust ensures that these families have food in the home while the Child with Cancer is in and out of hospital. Read more HERE.
Mandela Day Project
The idea of Mandela Day was inspired by Nelson Mandela at his 90th birthday celebrations in London’s Hyde Park in 2008 when he said: “It is time for new hands to lift the burdens. It is in your hands now.”
The Little Fighters Cancer Trust does Mandela Day 365 days every year. However, on Mr Mandela’s Birthday, we encourage companies and individuals to join us in some grassroots work, getting their hands dirty, walking the walk with us, and giving of themselves. Read more HERE.