*3 Cities 3 Events to Bring a Smile on Cancer Patients Face – CanKids & HOPE B~Lit Collaborate*

Every disease comes with its set of myths and expenses attached to it, sometimes ignorance and struggle break people and make recovery difficult. Having seen this closely for the since 2004 *CANKIDS*, India & United States collaborated with *HOPE B~Lit * Team to come together to support and spread joy in the life of children suffering with Cancer. Awareness is the firsts step to recovery, support in terms of emotional availability and financial stability is second to getting the correct treatment and love and acceptance are the most critical of the things to do when someone is dealing with something as critical as Cancer.
They have travelled together to 3 metropolitan cities, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi to felicitate Cancer Survivors and provide the much need financial aid to family with children suffering from Cancer. They aimed to improve Survival of children with cancer & Quality of Life and the Rights of the Child with Cancer and their Families. Cankids has adopted a multi-pronged strategy, that includes working in partnership with hospitals like AIIMS etc. to provide holistic support to children affected with cancer and their families. Across India CanKids works in over *22 states*, *100 locations * with over *89 cancer centers* in *42 cities* and treats more than *12,000 new cases* of childhood cancer each year. As a national level organization helping and enabling any child with cancer and the family anywhere in the country, Cankids seek new CSR partnerships to reach and support more and more children and families, to scale up and also be sustainable. They are convinced that working collaboratively, they will continue to make significant impact on childhood cancer in India. In 2018-19 Cankids spent about 8 crore rupees in providing direct medical support to cancer affected children and their families; in addition to this they also facilitated 17 crore rupees from various government schemes to reach cancer affected children and their families.
Celebrities came out in support of the cause, *Shahid Mallya*who sang the songs ‘Ik Khudi’ and ‘Darya’ in Mumbai, *Arjun Chakraborty ( Actor )* in Kolkata and *Ruhi Hak* (Founder- Hope B~LIT), *Sonal Sharma* (Co-founder, CanKids), *Poonam Bagai* (Founder, CanKids), *Harsh Kumar*(COO Cankids), and media partners *Ezilon Media Pvt Ltd* were present at the events held on 17th, 18th, and 20th December, 2019 respectively.
“We are fighting a war against cancer – childhood cancer.  Together we Can Partnerships and stakeholder engagement are vital.  Earlier this year we started real work with other partners in India on the WHO Global Initiative on Childhood Cancer which targets a 60% survival in LMICs by 2030. As the year draws to a close, we are delighted to initiate a new partnership with HOPE B-lit from USA which will help us to raise much needed awareness and funds for the cause. We congratulate Ruhi Hak on the deeply inspiring film on childhood cancer *“Got Cancer”* and are inspired by her passion and commitment to children’s causes.” Said Poonam Bagai, Founder Chairman Cankids and Cancer survivor and Advocate.
The critically acclaimed short film “Got Cancer” was screened at the event to highlight social issues, and put a spotlight on the concerns around Cancer to be able to take real action on the ground. As the creative producer of these films and the Founder of HOPE B~LIT, Ruhi aka *Rohini Hak* shared, “Our vision was clear from the beginning. While conceptualizing *‘Got Cancer!’* I knew the story not only needed to drive change in thought, but more importantly, it needed to translate into a call to action. That’s what creates a real impact on the ground for a supported cause.” All Proceeds from “Got Cancer!” screenings will continue to be donated to the kids braving cancer. HOPE B~Lit aims to provide much-needed support to affected children and their families in terms of further education and health check