Years ago, when Professor Ho Peng Kee was the master and
resident fellow of the National University of Singapore’s Kent
Ridge Hall, he was asked one day if the hall could be used to
house young cancer patients participating inCampRainbow.
“The organisers had difficulties finding a place to host the kids.
Perhaps at that time people did not want to be involved with
childrenwith cancer, because theywereworried that something
might happen to the kids,” he said.
But Prof Howanted toencourageand
affirm thecamp’sparticipants -both
the children and their parents.
“These were very spunky kids
who were determined to get
well,” he said.
APatron, anEncourager and anAdvocate
Hisaffirmationandsupportwouldcontinue in theyears tocome.
In 1996, when the charity was renamed fromWorking inAid of
Leukaemia Kids (WALK) to Children’s Cancer Foundation, the
then-Senior Parliament Secretary for the Ministries of Law and
HomeAffairs assumed the role of Patron.
Whileheasserted thatCCFstaffwere theonesdoing thecritical,
day-to-day work of caring for patients and supporting families,
Prof Ho tapped on his professional network to advocate for the
charity. For instance, he reached out to fellow office holders
to lend their presence as Guest-of-Honour for events such as
Hair for Hope.
“It is my privilege to have connected with a lot of people,
and I want toadd value inanyway I can tobe that link for CCF,”
saidProf Ho.
Through the years, he has seen how CCF has grown in its
offering of services for both patients and their families. “In the
early days, the support was more basic, covering things like
financial aidand transport of patients. Today, CCF isdoingmore
to fulfill the needs of patients, not just through the dark times
but through their recovery and reintegration into their normal
routines aswell,” he said.
To the patients and families, he has a simplemessage of hope:
“You are not alone. You have people at CCF that understand
your struggles. Let us knowhowwe canhelp.Weareawork-in-
progress, but wewill work together tomeet your needs.We are
here for you.”
"It is my privilege to have connectedwith
a lot of people, and I want to add value in
any way I can to be that link for CCF."
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