CHICA House was established in 2016 when a serious lack of accommodation for childhood cancer patients was experienced at Windhoek Central Hospital’s Paediatric Oncology Centre.

Interim homes form a key component of cancer treatment and at the CHICA Interim Home (for childhood cancer patients, we aim to provide caring “homes of hope” for those undergoing treatment. Patients make our homes their home during their 6-weekly treatment plans, or for follow-ups in preventing the spread of cancer.

Mothers accompanying their children receiving cancer treatment are only allowed to stay in the hospital for one or two weeks at the most. They are often left destitute, with no place to go and are forced to return to their rural or village home, leaving the young cancer patient alone in the hospital. At CAN we believe that the less stress and emotional trauma is placed on the family (especially the child patient), the better the chances are for effective treatment and recovery.

The home currently accommodates 16 mother-and-child stays and an urgent need for expansion has been experienced since January 2019 as childhood cancer cases increase in Namibia. CAN provides three nutritional meals a day, transportation to treatment centres as well as psychosocial group therapy through the Standard Bank Circle of Hope Programme on Thursdays.