The Hope Foundation for Children with Cancer (KAÇUV) has been named the 12th Changemaker of the 7th season of the Sabanci Foundation’s Turkey’s Changemakers Program.

According to World Health Organization (WHO) data, every year 200,000 children are diagnosed with cancer.

That number reaches 300,000 when relapses and continued treatments are added. In Turkey, there are no official statistics on children with cancer. Although exact numbers are unknown, it is estimated that nearly 3,000 children get the disease each year. Under these circumstances, KAÇUV is working to enable continual treatment for children in a suitable environment.

Founded in 2000, KAÇUV develops many different projects for children diagnosed with cancer, including the Child Explorers in the Virtual World and Game is My Medicine projects. With these projects, the organization aims to prevent children from becoming disconnected from the outside world and enable them to live their childhood during the course of the disease.

Among these projects, perhaps the most important is the Family Home project, which was put into service by KAÇUV for the use of families whose kids are fighting cancer. Built completely through donations, KAÇUV Family Home meets needs such as maintenance, food and shelter for underprivileged families. To date more than 300 families have benefited from KAÇUV Family Home.

KAÇUV has become hope for children diagnosed with cancer, providing them the necessary support for sustainable treatment. It has also enabled children to live their childhood and not be excluded from daily life, making a memorable difference in both the lives of the families and the children who struggle with cancer.