The year 2021 was meant to begin with celebration. Instead, for one family in northern Ghana, New Year’s Day became the beginning of a long and painful journey.
It started with something small – a young girl struggling to urinate. But what followed would test the strength of an entire family, and reveal the extraordinary courage of a mother determined to fight for her child.
The Long Journey
When home remedies failed, Hajia rushed her daughter Fatima to the Tamale Teaching Hospital. There, a CT scan revealed devastating news. A tumor blocking her urinary tract.
“I remember how my heart sank,” Hajia recalls quietly.
“We did not fully understand what it meant, only that it was serious.”
Treatment began immediately. Over the next year, Fatima endured nine cycles of chemotherapy and major surgery.
Hajia watched helplessly as her daughter’s hair fell out and her once lively body grew frail. Nights were often filled with cries of pain as the young girl struggled through the harsh effects of treatment.
For a mother, the suffering of a child is a pain that cuts deeper than words can describe.
A Mother’s Fight
The illness soon began to fracture the family. The cost of treatment was overwhelming. When the cancer returned in 2024, relatives began urging the family to stop spending money. Some even suggested Hajia’s husband should take another wife . Advice he eventually followed.
But Hajia refused to surrender.
“Even if the world says there is no hope,” she said,
“I cannot sit and watch my child die without trying everything. Even if she dies, she will die knowing her mother fought for her.”
Determined to save her daughter, Hajia turned to her own family for help and made the long journey to Accra, seeking specialized care at Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital.
The Lifeline
Arriving in the unfamiliar city, exhausted and nearly out of money, Hajia found something she did not expect: a community that cared.
At Korle-Bu, Lifeline for Childhood Cancer Ghana (LCCG) stepped in to support the family.
Once a proud shop owner who had always taken care of herself, Hajia now faced the painful reality of needing help. LCCG helped bridge that gap – supporting her with payment of chemotherapy drugs, scans, providing safe accommodation and nutritious meals from generous sponsors. By then, Hajia had spent her life savings. Chemotherapy alone costs over 2,000 Ghana cedis every two weeks. Without that support, continuing treatment would have been impossible.
“God gives us children,” Hajia says.
“And sometimes He tests us through them. I will not be ungrateful. I will fight for the one He placed in my hands.”
Holding On to Hope
The road ahead is still uncertain. The hospital days are long, and exhaustion often weighs heavily.
But Hajia holds tightly to one memory. The day Fatima was strong enough to return to school once before.
That moment reminds her that healing is possible.
So she waits. She prays. She hopes.
“Today, I am tired,” she admits.
“But I still have hope. Hope is the one thing I refuse to lose.”
Will You Be the Hope a Mother Refuses to Lose?
No mother should ever have to choose between saving her child’s life and protecting her family from financial ruin.
Your support to Lifeline for Childhood Cancer Ghana ensures that families like Fatima’s receive the treatment, housing, and nourishment they need to keep fighting.
Donate today.
Help us give children like Fatima the chance to grow, learn, and live.
Because sometimes, hope is the most powerful medicine of all.
