BENGALURU: Sunday was a day full of games, dance and general fun for children undergoing cancer therapy at the Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology. While daily, these 125 children have to put up with stressful treatments, on Sunday they just played and danced with joy.
All below the age of 15, these children were introduced to volunteers from the Shri Indiranagar Gujrati Association and Veer Mandal who organised games like toy train rides, darts and balloons and many more. Those who won, bagged exciting prizes. The event went on for more than 3 hours and all children were energetic even till the end.
It was just not only the two organisations who were part of the event, even people from Domlur, Wilson Garden, Bellandur, Chikkapete and JP Nagar came together and helped in bringing a smile on the children’s faces.
“Earlier we had come to the hospital for some other purpose and there we saw the pediatric block where many children were on beds and we felt horrible about it. We wanted to do something for them. A doctor from the block suggested that games could make them happy and so we went ahead with this. It was so lovely to see all of them play,” said Praful Maun, a volunteer.
Besides the games, there was also a puppet show organised for the kids. A photo-booth, water painting of cartoon characters and a dance stage kept the children busy through the day. People from other wards could be seen peeping through the windows and applauded the children as soon as they spotted them. Each child also got a personal gift, delivered to them at their bedside by the volunteers.
Dr Arun Kumar AR, pediatric oncologist, appreciated the initiative and said that it was necessary for the children as it was a change from their daily routine. “They stay in hospital for a minimum of 6 months. This initiative will generate energy and will also boost their immunity, making them forget they are patients for a while,” he further added.