By 
By Ross Moyo
Rainbow Children’s Village, home to child cancer patients receiving treatment at Parirenyatwa Hospital, has been blessed in Harare.
The Village, built at a cost of $1.57 million by Meikles Foundation, Roundtable Zimbabwe and KidzCan Zimbabwe, was opened in May. This week’s ceremony was a blessing of the home for supporters who were not present at the opening.
The Village provides free accommodation to families who live more than 15km outside Harare and cannot afford to stay in the city between chemotherapy sessions.
It offers 24 twin-bedded rooms to house the patient and caregiver. No charges.
Parirenyatwa’s Ward A4 Special is Zimbabwe’s only public paediatric cancer ward. It treats children from rural districts across the country.
KidzCan nurse Charity Kawadza said the Village stops families from abandoning treatment.
“Patients who stay at the village are those in between treatment. They need a small break but they cannot go home which is maybe too far,” Kawadza said.
KidzCan Executive Director Daniel Mckenzie said the Village closes a critical gap in care. “Communities don’t know children get cancer. Our job is to bridge that knowledge gap.”
KidzCan is Zimbabwe’s only childhood cancer organisation, founded in 2009 by survivor Andrea Whatman. It supported over 1,000 children in 2024.
Dr Nancy Jonker of Diagnostic Imaging Centre, who has provided radiology scans for children on the ward for 16 years, attended the blessing.
“For the last 16 years, Diagnostic Imaging Centre has been providing radiology services to children undergoing cancer treatments at Parirenyatwa,” Jonker said.
She said most children come from rural areas with no financial support.
Pastor Gary Cross, KidzCan Chairman, said at the blessing: “This was something that God initiated.”
Comments