Irish Cancer Survivor Celebrates With Special Support to Kenya

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Irish Cancer Survivor Celebrates With Special Support to Kenya
Irish Cancer Survivor Celebrates With Special Support to Kenya

Africa-PressKenya. A retired Irish engineer, Bob Loade, decided to mark the end of his chemotherapy treatment in style.

The 64-year-old did a 10-mile hike at the Antrim Hills in Larne, Northern Ireland. This was to raise funds for women and girls in Eastern Kenya as a celebration for completing his chemotherapy. He was joined by some of his church members in support of the initiative.

Speaking to Farming Life, he shared how drought forces women in Eastern Kenya to walk for miles each day in search of water for their families and livestock.

He was inspired by a presentation that he watched on a Zoom call which detailed the impact of climate change.

Bob then thought of carrying 5 litres of water in a rucksack walking in solidarity with the women and girls of eastern Kenya who spend many hours each day walking to fetch water.

Despite the hectic chemotherapy process, he then received the great news of his body being free from cancer before completing his chemotherapy.

His cancer journey began on January 1, 2020, when he began experiencing abdominal pain. Upon surgery, the doctors also discovered that he also had bowel cancer. This was when his oncologist, Dr Catherine Davis, recommended reducing his weight and increasing his proactivity to minimize the risk of recurrence.

On completing his chemotherapy on January 21, his fitness journey didn’t stop there until he managed to attain his goal of 6,000 steps a day.

Bob also commented on how grateful he was. “When I was in Laurel House (the chemotherapy unit at Antrim Area Hospital), it was very sobering to see young mums in there receiving treatment too. It really hit me, there are people much worse off than me.”

The Irishman also came up with a sponsored challenge raising almost Ksh300,000 to fund the building of earth dams to collect and store water during rains.

Bob called on United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and other well-wishers to assist his initiative with relief aids.

Government spokesperson Cyrus Oguna announced on April 1, that the government was considering a budget of Ksh2.2 billion to mitigate drought in Kenya. This was in line with addressing relief measures for four hunger-stricken counties, Wajir, Turkana, Garissa and Mandera, in the North-Eastern part of Kenya.

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