Singapore Goes Gold for Children With Cancer
CanKids Go Gold Gala Singapore – A Resounding Success! On April 20th, the CanKids Go Gold Gala lit up the Capella Hotel on Sentosa Island, uniting our community in support of children battling cancer and their families. We extend our deepest gratitude to our generous hosts, Mr. Arvind Tiku of the AT Capital Foundation and Mr. Piyush Gupta, CEO of DBS Bank.
An Evening of Gratitude and Generosity
Despite unexpected travel delays, the gala was a heartwarming gathering of long-time donors, partners, supporters, and volunteers. We were thrilled to have Lisa Ray and Shekhar Ravjiani grace the event with their presence, thanks to the tireless efforts of Shweta Narang of Teamwork Productions and Vedika Singhal of Ferris Wheel Diaries, both contributing their expertise pro bono.
While Mr. Arvind Tiku was unable to attend due to health reasons, his sister Vineeta, niece Anisha, and esteemed board members Sanjay Bakliwal and Nico Derksen ensured his support was felt. Mr. Piyush Gupta graciously welcomed our team and served as a wonderful host for the evening.
A Night to Remember
With a full house of 93 attendees, the gala was a resounding success. Pre-event cocktails, a lively photo booth, a delectable multi-course meal, engaging fireside chats, Ms. Bagai's inspiring CanKids story pitch, and Shekhar Ravjiani's captivating musical performance set the stage for a truly magical night.
As a token of our appreciation, each guest received a personalized NFC card, offering a seamless way to connect and share information with a simple tap on their mobile device.
An Evening of Gratitude and Generosity
Despite unexpected travel delays, the gala was a heartwarming gathering of long-time donors, partners, supporters, and volunteers. We were thrilled to have Lisa Ray and Shekhar Ravjiani grace the event with their presence, thanks to the tireless efforts of Shweta Narang of Teamwork Productions and Vedika Singhal of Ferris Wheel Diaries, both contributing their expertise pro bono.
While Mr. Arvind Tiku was unable to attend due to health reasons, his sister Vineeta, niece Anisha, and esteemed board members Sanjay Bakliwal and Nico Derksen ensured his support was felt. Mr. Piyush Gupta graciously welcomed our team and served as a wonderful host for the evening.
A Night to Remember
With a full house of 93 attendees, the gala was a resounding success. Pre-event cocktails, a lively photo booth, a delectable multi-course meal, engaging fireside chats, Ms. Bagai's inspiring CanKids story pitch, and Shekhar Ravjiani's captivating musical performance set the stage for a truly magical night.
As a token of our appreciation, each guest received a personalized NFC card, offering a seamless way to connect and share information with a simple tap on their mobile device.
Sonal Sharma, as a parent of a childhood cancer survivor, kicked off the evening on a heartwarming note of why Childhood Cancer matters to her along with a film highlighting 8 reasons why it should matter to all of us.
Mr. Piyush Gupta skillfully moderated an enlightening fireside chat on the topic of "Navigating Privilege." The discussion featured insightful contributions from panelists Melissa Kwee, Caesar Sengupta, and Lisa Ray, each offering remarkable perspectives that enriched the conversation.
Ms Bagai’s storytelling of our CanKids Story and invitation to the audience to partner in our vision to help every child with cancer in India access care - to survive and thrive was exceptional.
Shekhar Ravjiani's soulful soirée, dedicated to childhood cancer survivors, transformed the event from superb to magical. We are profoundly grateful to Shekhar for his heartfelt performance, which added a truly enchanting dimension to our evening.
The Gold Hero Award for Outstanding Contribution to Childhood Cancer for driving Universal Health Coverage was conferred upon Arvind Tiku and AT Capital Foundation.
The Gold Hero Award for Outstanding Contribution to Childhood Cancer for her support to Fight RB India was conferred upon Kanaka Sirpal.
Indian High Commissioner Dr. Shilpak Ambule presented the awards to Anisha Tiku, representing the Tiku family, and to Piyush Gupta, accepting on behalf of Kanaka Sirpal in memory of his friend Sajeev Sirpal, in whose honor the RB Fund was established a decade ago.
- For recognizing that no family should go bankrupt, lose their assets, become impoverished or go deeper into poverty when a child gets sick with cancer
- For supporting the treatment of 100 children with cancer at any point of time commencing 2013
- For the generous support of over 1 million USD that enabled over 2100 children with cancer across India to receive lifesaving treatment from 2013 to 2024.
The Gold Hero Award for Outstanding Contribution to Childhood Cancer for her support to Fight RB India was conferred upon Kanaka Sirpal.
- Access to care for RB is 83% compared to the national average of 42%. More children with RB are reaching treating centers than other childhood cancers.
- The Fight RB India National Interest Group was set up in 2014 which has worked systematically over the last decade to drive survival and other outcomes for Children with retinoblastoma in India
- 56 Partnering Centers (Ophthalmology + Ocular Oncology + Pediatric Oncology) in Fight RB India Group are providing a network of treating centers with standard of care treatment and support
- A majority of centers are using Sophisticated therapeutic interventions like brachytherapy, IAC and Genetic testing
- 32 patient navigators and 40 other social support workers across these centres provide social support by way of drugs, diagnostics, therapies, supportive care, education, and psychological support and helpline services.
- In the last 10 years Cankids has registered 5730 children to provide holistic care and support through our YANA – you are not alone protocol that holds the hand of children with RB and their families.
- A prospective collaborative research for a standardized protocol for Retinoblastoma patients in India INPHOG-RB-19-01“. closed recruitment in September 2023. Against the target of 630 patients 1120 patients were recruited in the multi center study across 19 centers
- Jyotirgamaya – a patient advocacy survivor group for Retinoblastoma survivors works to provide eye prosthesis, disability certificates, education and Braille support for eye-sight impaired children
- Every year we have celebrated Retinoblastoma week in the month of May to create awareness and provide health information and patient education about Retinoblastoma
Indian High Commissioner Dr. Shilpak Ambule presented the awards to Anisha Tiku, representing the Tiku family, and to Piyush Gupta, accepting on behalf of Kanaka Sirpal in memory of his friend Sajeev Sirpal, in whose honor the RB Fund was established a decade ago.
