KAMPALA —Staff of Centenary Bank have today donated Ushs. 25 million towards a waiting shelter intended to house cancer patients as they wait to receive treatment at the Uganda Cancer Institute in Mulago.
While addressing the hospital management, the General Manager Corporate Communications and Marketing, Beatrice Lugalambi narrated how Centenary Bank has a CSR focus hinged on bridging the cancer gap through putting in place mechanisms to support in the fight against the cancer scourge, which includes personal interventions and contributions from staff.
She further demonstrated how the selflessness of the staff members at the bank resulted into the raising necessary funds required to help setup waiting sheds that will accommodate a minimum of 400 patients and caretakers per day at the institute.
“As Centenary Bank, for the last 10 years, we have been involved in different activities all geared towards bridging the cancer gap. Key among these include; the Annual Rotary Cancer Run, support to Rotary Family Health days where each year, we screen over 1,000 women for breast and cervical cancer as well as provide training on how to self-check and detect developing cancer to facilitate early treatment and prevention,” she revealed.
Lugalambi explained that, “We have supported the production of cancer reading material to help caretakers and cancer patients with the relevant facts about cancer. The Bank has also been part of the cancer parades intended to create awareness sessions and educate the public about cancer.
“Today’s donation is very special! It comes from the hearts of 3,000 staff of Centenary Bank. Last year, when Covid-19 hit the country, so many activities were disrupted and among those was the physical cancer run that used to bring us together as we hit the streets to run against cancer,” she said, adding that, “We had to participate virtually in our neighborhoods, but we still wanted to contribute to a cause as the Cente family.
“We reached out to our staff and each one dug deep in their pockets to contribute towards the lives of cancer patients. In the space of only 2 weeks (14 days), we had raised a total of 25 million.”
While receiving the donation, Victoria Walusansa the acting Executive Director of the Institute thanked the bank staff for having cancer patients at heart.
She was thrilled to see that the patients and their caretakers that are usually left stranded, with most opting to sleep out in the cold simply because they can’t afford to travel back home, now have a shelter to shield them from harsh weather conditions as they seek medical care.
Walusansa remarked that, “We receive a minimum of 300 patient and caretaker visits per day and sometimes upwards to 500. As the numbers continue to grow, we are devising means to improve their conditions while at the institute and we are grateful to institutions like Centenary Bank that have come in to support.
“I wish to call upon more individuals and organizations to partner with us at all levels to help ensure patients and caretakers have a delightful experience despite their health conditions,” she concluded.
The shelter donated will accommodate patients mostly those that travel from upcountry and have difficulty returning home while they receive their treatment and consultation services.
Annually, 34,000 Ugandans are diagnosed with Cancer while approximately 22,000 die from the disease each year. More efforts from individuals and organizations are required to help in the dissemination of awareness information around prevention, early detection and treatment at early stages.
