KidzCan Chair Gary Cross: Rainbow Village is God’s Vision Fulfilled After 26 Years

By Ross Moyo

KidzCan Zimbabwe Board Chairman Pastor Gary Cross says the Rainbow Children’s Village in Belgravia is a divine vision that took 26 years to fulfil.

Speaking during a blessing ceremony at the home, Cross, who is also Pastor of Northside Community Church, traced the organisation’s origin to Andrea Whatman, a childhood cancer survivor.

“About 26 years ago, God placed a burden on a lady’s heart called Andrea Wattman to do something for children in Parirenyatwa Hospital, and especially for children with cancer, because Andrea was a survivor of cancer herself as a child,” he said.

Founded in 2009, KidzCan is Zimbabwe’s only childhood cancer organisation. It works with the Ministry of Health and Child Care to support four hospitals, funds chemotherapy, diagnostics, blood products, transport and psychosocial support.

According to the National Cancer Registry, Zimbabwe registered 253 childhood cancers in 2017 and 293 in 2018. Leukaemia remains number one. The survival rate is 20% compared to 80% in developed countries. Zimbabwe has only three paediatric oncologists.

Cross said the need for a halfway house was identified at inception but funding was never available.

The breakthrough came when Roundtable Zimbabwe and Meikles Foundation partnered with KidzCan. Roundtable donated land, Meikles donated US$300,000 for Phase One of the US$1.57 million project.

Today, Rainbow Village provides free accommodation, food, nutrition and recreation for children whose homes are more than 15km from Harare, yet receiving treatment at Parirenyatwa’s A4 Special Ward.

Daniel Mckenzie, KidzCan Executive Director, says: “Every dollar raised helps us support more children through diagnostics, medications and housing at Rainbow Village. It’s colourful, it’s safe, and it lets mothers focus on healing while children still get to be children.”

Cross said the blessing was necessary because the home was God-initiated: “We needed to come and to thank God for giving us the vision, and enabling us to fulfil it. To ask Him to continue to bless the home, and to bless every child, every caregiver, every family that comes through these doors.”

Zimbabwe is now a focus country for the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancer, which aims to increase survival to 60% by 2030.