Cancer is one of the most aggressive diseases in modern history. It doesn’t only put people in a life-threatening situation; treatment is also invasive and emotionally jarring. It’s not an easy road, and even less so for children.
The Visual Healing Project is an initiative meant to tackle this issue and emotionally support children who are suffering from cancer. In the Saiful Anwar Hospital’s children’s cancer wing, the Malang Mural Family and Sahabat Anak Kanke have collaborated to paint the children’s rooms to bring some hope and brightness into their lives and, hopefully, improve their stay while they get better.
“Visual Healing is one of the ways for Sahabat Anak Kanker community to make pediatric treatment rooms, IRNA IV, RSSA Malang, more child-friendly and more fun for children. Our main goal is the children will not be traumatized by medication, so that chemotherapy can run smoothly and increase the hope of recovery.” – Indah Meraki, DM, Malang, Indonesia.
Our colleague Rispo has painted the first wall in the hospital, which is now the children’s favorite room to stay in. And Indah, one of our graphic designers, had volunteered to play with the children, so now we’ve begun to think bigger and look for ways to make this project grow.
By providing colors and stories on the walls, the children get a better experience than when stationed in white, cold, clinical rooms. By doing this, they get the chance to remain cheerful and enjoy their childhood even in such a difficult situation. The process may take some time as it needs a lot of coordination with the hospital, but we’re passionate about this initiative! Through 24Volunteer we are hoping to extend the number of rooms with lovely paintings for the children.
Since the hospital could not afford these nonessential expenses, our colleagues collected funds to paint and decorate three hospital rooms. We ask ourselves; what can we offer to earn the money needed for this project? Luckily, there’s something 24Slides has in spades: talent! And so many of our incredible designers answered the call. They submitted unique pieces that showcased their artistic talent and that they were interested in putting up for sale.
On June 18th, we auctioned off 22 of their amazing designs and collected the funds needed to begin painting. It’s incredible to think of how our colleagues get together to share their passion and commitment to helping others through art. We’re excited to begin painting in the upcoming months and spend more time with the children of the Saiful Anwar Hospital!
