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ASHIC - A hope for childhood cancer survivors

About 6000 children die from blood cancer each year

STAR HEALTH DESK
ASHIC (A Shelter for Helpless Ill Children) is a foundation that endeavors to provide relief to the children surviving with deadly genetic disease like blood cancer and provides for the parents a psychological support base unprecedented in Bangladesh which was set up in 1994. Such unique patients care centre for cancer survivors is the fisrt of its kind in the country and a few other similar centre is now being set up following ASHIC's footsteps.
In Bangladesh, there are tragic stories of thousand of families mostly poor trying to save their child suffering from cancer, while dealing with all their other distresses in life. A country where the priority is usually given to treat children suffering from malnutrition, oncology or treatment for cancer receives virtually no recognition for funds although about 6000 children die from blood cancer. As such, the treatment facilities are lacking, trained doctors are scarce and whatever meager infrastructure there is, it is very poorly maintained. The majority of the people cannot afford the luxuries of adequate treatment for their children. Their children are quickly forgotten by society and they slowly fade into the oblivion of their grieving hearts.
Learning from experience and inspired by the ultimate loss of their beloved Ashic Hossain Choudhury to blood cancer or leukemia at a tender age of three who was treated for a year in Great Ormond Hospital for blood cancer in London, the Choudhury family pioneered ASHIC (A Shelter for Helpless Ill Children).
The foundation is completely dedicated to serving children surviving cancer in Bangladesh in any way possible. Salma Choudhury, Ahiq's mother, as the chair person, along with her husband, Afzal H Choudhury, as the president of the foundation started ASHIC in 1994 using their own resources and have led the foundation to grow modestly since its tender beginnings to encompass a range of programmes.
History
ASHIC as a charity organisation aims;
To take such measures as may enable the children suffering from cancer to make their life memorable and enjoyable through various programmes of sports, entertainment, sightseeing, excursion etc,
To provide emotional support to the family members of the affected children,
To establish "play center" in different hospitals,
To try and fulfil their last wishes,
To run awareness programmes on childhood cancer,
To facilitate accommodation and transportation for the parents to remain close to their children during hospital care,
To provide all possible benefits and services to children suffering from cancer and especially those who are at terminal stage.
To establish home service and offer symptomatic care to those children who are suffering from cancer but wish to stay at home before terminal stage,
To build and establish refuge center and hospitals, treatment center and residential accommodations for the children suffering from cancer, To establish research center.
Shelter
The shelter is an exclusive accommodation facility for the commuting cancer-affected families or patient attendants. It has been set up at 114, Central Road near Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU).
Since all of the treatment facilities for cancer are based in Dhaka, families with sick child come to seek treatment in the capital not only for a few days but often for months. One of the major problems for the commuting families in Dhaka City is accommodation and transportation. Accommodations near the hospital are quite difficult for the parents most of the time. The socio-economic conditions of the patients are poor and treatment procedure for cancer is very lengthy.
It is a 20 bed accommodation facility in the heart of the city where a patient and the attending parents can stay free of cost and any additional family member can stay at a low cost paying only Tk 30 per day if accommodation is available. SHELTER only accepts families who come on recommendation from hospital authorities.
Supply of free medicine and accessories
Since 1997, ASIC has entered into an agreement with National Children Cancer Society "NCCS" of USA where ASHIC will receive important cancer medicine, medical equipment and other goods for free. Even though the medicines are donated by NCCS but once they arrive in Bangladesh, the government's bureaucratic tangles pose a big hurdles in getting them released from customs. It often takes months and costs a lot of money paying taxes/duties to free the goods.
Outing programmes
It is an opportunity for the ASHIC family to get together and spend an enjoyable afternoon (or a day) at interesting places which helps the children to enjoy the brief leisure away from their shelter. It is organised on the last Monday of every month. Concord Entertainment Ltd., owner of the newly created Fantasy Kingdom (Theme Park), at Ashulia, some 30 km from the town, has recently granted a special rebate to the ASHIC children and their families. Under this programme 30 ASHIC members will get free entrance with three rides to Fantasy Kingdom on every last Monday of each month.