Stop Misusing Charity

Parmeshwar Devkota

Cancer has become a common disease in children over recent decades. The exact cause of cancer among them is still in mystery, but leukaemia, lymphomas neuroblastoma, and malignant bone tumours are common cancer types among children. Researches are being carried out at various levels to trace the causes behind a certain kind of cancer, but no specific source has yet been found. It must be noted that all cancers are not equally deadly.

But, there are rumours in the society that all cancers are deadly and costly to cure. So, if a child is diagnosed with any type of cancer, parents become hopeless. Those having property and social dignity begin selling their property for the treatment of the loved one. But the money-minded, shrewd and selfish ones start begging donations by using various means including social media. If diagnosed timely, the majority of cancer diseases in children are curable and not too much costly either when they are treated in government hospitals. Additionally, the Nepal government provides Rs. 100,000 for the treatment of cancer. 

If a teetotaller member of a family is admitted to a government hospital for 10 months, the total medical cost may not exceed Rs, 300,000. So, the patients should not get panicky from the very beginning. But, the greedy ones seem to be making hue and cry as soon as their kid is diagnosed with cancer positive. They are found using social media and loudspeakers to collect donations. 

Here are two such instances. A man from a middle-class family brought a 13-year-old girl with cancer. He admitted the girl to a government hospital in Kathmandu. As soon as she was diagnosed with cancer, her father posted a pathetic photograph of the child on Facebook. He also organised gatherings at restaurants to collect donations. Within a week, he was able to collect nearly Rs. 1 million. Sadly, the girl could not survive. The hospital bill was only around Rs. 80,000. Having paid the bill, he returned home with rest of money. 

Another more amazing story of donation collection was that a 10-year-old daughter of a taxi driver was diagnosed with cancer. On the first day, family members launched a donation collection campaign. They posted a message on social media, calling for donations. They also held gatherings of artists at restaurants and dispatched groups in the four corners of the Kathmandu Valley and collected a huge amount of money. They brought the child to India for bone marrow transplantation which costs around Rs. 4 million.  Happily, the child cured, but the work of collecting donations continued. So the child’s father gave his old taxi to his brother and brought a brand new Scorpio car for him. Now, the family is enjoying a luxurious life. 

It is not bad idea to collect donation for the treatment of cancer patients but yours truly is against the tendency of collecting and abusing money in the name of cancer patients. Therefore, my humble request is that the concerned authorities should keep tabs on the donation collection activities. They need to make sure that the collected amount should be used for the treatment of patients, not for other purposes. If the parents have extra donation amount after the cure of his/her children, it should be given to another cancer patient facing financial trouble. By doing so, a true spirit of humanity can be kept alive.