Keeping the momentum

Alaa Shahine follows the campaign to build a new children's cancer hospital and finds that nothing less than the best will do

The battle against cancer is harrowing under the best conditions. But Patricia Pruden, development director of the Association of Friends of the National Cancer Institute (AFNCI), posits a further hurdle: what if the only facility capable of treating cancer patients is overcrowded and under- equipped to handle the hundreds of patients waiting for care?

This is a question that the AFNCI, an Egyptian non- governmental organisation established in 1998 focusing on children with cancer (see related article), hopes will soon be inapplicable in Egypt. Pruden, an energetic and determined planner, points to the AFNCI's fund-raising campaign to build a state-of-the-art paediatric oncology hospital as the first step towards this goal.

The hospital project is expected to cost some LE350 million. "People are asking why we are building a fancy hospital and I am sick of this question. Go to the NCI [National Cancer Institute] and see the kind of care people are receiving and you will know the answer," Pruden told Al- Ahram Weekly. "You will see children looking miserable. I have treated children with cancer before and I know that it doesn't have to be like that. They can have fun and be happy, even with this disease."

The oncology hospital, currently under construction in the Old Cairo district of Sayeda Zeinab, is known as "5737" -- the number of the bank account where donations are being collected. The hospital will have a capacity of 185 beds, expandable to 350, and an additional clinic capable of receiving 200 patients daily. Surgical facilities and well- equipped intensive-care units are all in the works.

Underscoring the NCI's emphasis on all aspects of health care, NCI Secretary-General Sherif Abul-Naga added that there will also be a department devoted to mental health care. "If there is one thing I am proud of in our struggle to provide care for children with cancer, it is that we have somehow managed to elicit some real smiles on children's faces," Abul-Naga said, displaying several drawings by children at the NCI and pictures and videos of the children playing. "People sometimes forget that children suffering from cancer yearn for the playground just as much as their healthy counterparts. They, too, want to swing, slide and sing and I am happy that we are helping them to do so," he told the Weekly.

The new cancer hospital is the second stage of Abul- Naga's larger plan to improve the badly deteriorated services provided by the NCI. Early in the 1980s, the children clinic had only eight beds, serving 16 patients. "Several years later, the situation was much better," says Abul-Naga, who credits the generous donations of several businessmen. "Now the clinic employs 125 people and works until midnight, but still, of course, we are unable to handle the growing numbers of patients," Abul-Naga said. "That's how we realised the need for the hospital."

The AFNCI fund-raising campaign started in 1998. One famous advertisement featured a child named Ahmed, who talked frankly about his struggle with cancer. The ad fuelled a controversy about the association, the donations it was receiving and the authorities monitoring the fund-raising process. "Some people even thought that Ahmed was an actor, although he was one of my patients," Abul-Naga said.

Two years down the line, advertisements and other aggressive fund-raising methods have become part and parcel of the AFNCI's drive. Today you can donate LE1.5 simply by calling 1-4-6-8 from your mobile, or 09-009-555 from any land line. A pervasive advertising campaign calls on the public to donate funds. Additionally, the association has a 15,000-person direct e-mail list and distributes flyers through the mail (my bank statement arrived this week with one such flyer attached). A television documentary and a newsletter about the progress of work at the hospital's site are all part of the fund-raising process.

"It had to be a revolutionary campaign to suit the immensity of our goal," said Tarek Nour, who owns the advertising agency responsible for the AFNCI campaign, which has donated its services. One of Egypt's leading advertising experts, Nour told the Weekly that the campaign is doing nothing less than trying to change people's attitudes towards public works projects. "Because of this, [the campaign] had to be an integrated effort, not just limited to television and newspapers," he said.

Despite the success of the campaign -- and perhaps because of this success -- sceptics have questioned how the money being collected is being managed. "Most of the advertisements come as donations as well," confirms Abul- Naga. "When we do spend, we may pay a million to get five million back -- we depend on modern fund-raising theories and models."

One model the AFNCI has emulated is Saint Jude's hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, in the United States. The hospital was established in the 1960s as the first children's cancer ward in the world. "They raised all the money from donations and they raise $330 million a year, all through donations," Pruden said.

Last month, the AFNCI organised a fund-raising "sports day" at Cairo Stadium. The event included a running race and several other sports and activities for children with cancer. Political figures like People's Assembly Speaker Ahmed Fathi Sorour, Youth Minister Aliyeddin Helal and Cairo Governor Abdel-Rahim Shehata, along with pop stars like Hakim and Anoushka, all took part.

One direct benefit of the event was an LE1 million donation from McDonald's, the American fast-food chain that has recently suffered local criticism over allegations that the company provides financial aid to Israel. "Companies like McDonald's and Coca Cola have improved their image through participating in the 5737 campaign," Nour said. "Nobody does anything for free, but there's no shame in that. The franchises of both these companies belong to the Egyptian people, and they are making a positive contribution," he added.

The same sentiments were voiced by AFNCI board member Hussam Qabani, who is one of the association's main donors. "There is definitely a commercial motive behind company cooperation, but even so, they have been a great help to the project," he said.

Apart from the financial benefits, the Cairo Stadium event was hailed as an amazingly successful "family day." "Many people said that nobody would show up that day," Pruden recalls. "But it was a great family day. Around 15,000 people were at the stadium and it was great seeing the children playing and enjoying themselves."

So far only LE50 million of the LE350 million needed to complete the hospital have been secured, but no one involved seems pessimistic. "The hospital will open by the end of 2003," a confident Abul-Naga said. "We are working tooth and nail at expanding our revenue stream. We now have posters in all our embassies abroad and a pay-phone number in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, not to mention a new donation system through credit cards."

"It is more than just a hospital," Pruden said. "It is an effort that could give Egyptians confidence in their ability to change the course of history for the children of this country."

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