Singapore’s only day-care centre, Arc Children’s Centre (ACC) taking in children diagnosed with cancer was officially opened by its patron, Mrs Goh Chok Tong, on 13August 2011, Saturday. Children between 3 and 18 years old are taken under their care, though on case by case basis, children of older ages will be considered as well.
No enrolment fee is needed, and the fee is waived for families facing financial difficulty. A nominal fee of $10 a day per child is charged for those whom are able to pay. These covers meals and transport expenses.
A typical weekday in the center conducts English or Mathematics lesson for a few hours before serving lunch. The afternoons are dedicated to fun activities before they are sent home. Each morning, a staff member or a volunteer will accompany the centre vehicle to pick up these children. This provides an outlet for children to play and learn to socialize, allowing them to develop normally.
At the centre, children are given the opportunity to meet others that are like them, thus minimizing the isolation that they face when diagnosed with cancer. Thus, they do not feel left alone as company and support plays a vital role to help cope with the cancer treatment process.
The ACC also provides support for the cancer children’s siblings and parents, as they too will need support in caring of the child. Siblings tend to feel left out when more attention was paid to the sick child by the parents.
Do you think a center like ACC should be expanded to other areas in Singapore or is there more to be done to support these parents and caregivers of cancer-stricken children?