Durban - Little Naledi Senamela dreamed of being a doctor.
That dream faded when she was diagnosed with leukaemia in May 2020 after experiencing severe body aches, loss of appetite and fatigue.
Her survival depended on finding a stem cell donor but doctors could not find a match for her.
Naledi died in June last year.
This week a Wall of Hope was unveiled in Durban’s Berea in honour of Naledi and the 500 other children who have died from blood-related illnesses since 2020.
The Wall of Hope is a project of DKMS Africa, formerly known as the Sunflower Fund.
DKMS communications manager Nabiella de Beer said they decided to “immortalise” those who died of blood cancer as part of their annual Sunflower Day campaign used to raise funds and awareness for people living with blood cancers and blood disorders.
She made an urgent call for more South Africans of colour to become blood stem cell donors because there were not enough black people on the registry.
“If you are unfortunate enough to get sick from a blood cancer or blood disorder then finding a matching donor becomes really difficult. Finding a match relies on genetics and you are most likely to find a match from the same ethnic group as you,” De Beer said.
She said there were 11 million people on the global registry and 75% of them were white.
“There is a 75% chance of finding a match if you are white, there is only a 19% chance if you are of African descent, so this shows the urgency around African people to become stem cell donors,” said De Beer.
According to statistics, every 27 seconds someone in the world is diagnosed with a blood disorder like leukaemia, aplastic anaemia and sickle cell disease, which made the Sunflower Day campaign vital.
De Beer said: “It also represents hope for the children who are still suffering and serves as a reminder to encourage South Africans to help provide these children with a second chance at life by registering to become blood stem cell donors.”
She said their colourful topes, or tubes of hope, which could be used as a fashion accessory or mask, were on sale at Pick ‘n Pay stores nationwide.
Kev7, the artist who painted the Wall of Hope, said it was touching being part of a project to honour someone who had passed on and even more so when he was confronted with the statistics.
“It enables you to feel and experience more while you are painting because it’s a commemoration and it’s a memorial mural.”
Kev7, who prefers working on life-sized murals, said he tried to honour Naledi but also keep the art playful because it was about children.
The Wall of Hope can be viewed opposite the Berea Centre.
The Independent on Saturday