The Cancer Association of South Africa

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We Need What YOU Can Offer

Volunteering is a very special calling of people who selflessly donate their time to our cancer patients, and also help raise funds.

CANSA appreciates all our volunteers who are the cornerstone of all CANSA projects carried out in communities and workplaces. Over 7 000 trained volunteers are our foot soldiers in the fight against cancer and they carry out invaluable work. Without our volunteers, we wouldn’t be able to provide care and support to those affected by cancer.

We thank and honour each one this International Volunteers Day
(5 December). We salute you!

CANSA is very excited to launch our new online Volunteer Training programme in the near future and thanks CCT: Centre for Community Technologies, Nelson Mandela University for providing the platform. This free training course in Health Promotion and Patient Care, consists of everything that is required to become a proud CANSA volunteer. Modules include background and information regarding CANSA; health education; living a balanced lifestyle; cancer (staging, common types, treatment); managing side effects of treatment; dietary and nutritional needs of cancer patients; and the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis. Those wishing to enrol for the volunteer training course can email cbumso@cansa.org.za

We’d like to encourage YOU to volunteer – visit the nearest CANSA Care Centre, or sign up to be a volunteer on the CANSA Website.

CANSA volunteers are active on many fronts and often specialise in a particular field: young adults are getting more involved offering services and projects mainly among their peers. ‘Feel Good Volunteers’ are mainly in a corporate and business setting who participate only on special days e.g. International Nelson Mandela Day or Giving Tuesday. Virtual volunteers assist with online fundraising, editing manuals or virtual marketing campaigns. Advocacy volunteers are the ‘voices’ for the community and assist with access to treatment issues and also navigating the health system for the patient. Professional volunteers guide and assist lay volunteers and some may be trained spokespersons on specific topics while others contribute by offering pro bono skills such as legal advice, training or coaching. Fundraising volunteers help raise funds and implement national, provincial and regional projects like CANSA Shavathon and CANSA Relay For Life events. Patient care volunteers are trained to offer practical, emotional and spiritual care to patients and their families. Health promotion volunteers get involved with our health awareness campaigns and some give health talks. Tough living with cancer (TLC) volunteers are trained to interact and support children and families affected by cancer while they receive their treatment at paediatric oncology wards.

A few of our CANSA Volunteers share what volunteering means to them:

Dibuseng Emily: “’Volunteering helps me to grow, develop skills and gain experience which adds as an advantage to my CV, it further helps me to meet with new people who share similar interests, helps to build my confidence and to get to know myself.”

Tumelo Pholwane: “Being a CANSA volunteer is amazing, knowing that I am changing lives, assisting them to know better and live better is incredible. It fulfils my heart to assist people and know I am making a huge impact in their lives.”

Thato Blom: “Being a CANSA volunteer is a life changing experience. I am able to develop my craft and gain experience as a qualified social worker. My knowledge about cancer has increased through training and supervision of CANSA Community Mobilisers. I am comfortable to say I am now a change agent.”

Mamosa Maitin: “CANSA has given me a lot of gifts, a new perspective on things and life as a whole. It has taught me compassion. The greatest gift of all has to be personal growth, working with remarkable people and facilitating the emotional growth of people who are at their lowest. This gave me a sense of self awareness and growth.”

Kimberly Sithole: “For me, volunteering at CANSA is a great opportunity to achieve the goal I have to help whenever I can. In addition, it gives me an opportunity to learn skills which I don’t think I would’ve had an opportunity to develop outside of the organisation.”

Lebogang Bezela: “Personally, I got involved and become interested in volunteering for CANSA after I found out that my friend Monnapule Jantjies passed away because of cancer. The experience touched me so much and I realised very few people in my community know about cancer. I decided to become involved and become a living voice for awareness and for those who are in need of care and support. One of the other reasons that kept me at CANSA is that I found family outside my own and professional guidance and mentorship from CANSA staff. As much as I was doing my part to contribute to society, through CANSA, I also felt volunteering for CANSA allowed me to grow as a person and also better mould me to become community worker.”

Jacqueline Bedwell: “My betrokkenheid by pasiënte wat met kanker gedianoseer is … pasiënte in remissie...die projekte wat KANSA aanbied ... beteken vir my soveel meer as wat ek ooit kan verduidelik ... vir die afgelope 5 jaar + ... het ek so baie kennis opgedoen en geleer ... vir my is dit n Godelike voorreg om deel te wees van KANSA.... dis wonderlik om te aanskou hoe en te beleef die passie waarmee elkeen sy pligte uitvoer....ek dank die Here vir die kans wat Hy my gegun het om deel te wees van KANSA ...om my mense in my klein gemeenskap te kon inlig oor kanker ... hul te kon bewus maak en om te kon gee en deel te wees van sekere projekte … byvoorbeeld, Pink en Blue Walks en Shavathon ... dis wonderlik ... omdat al die inligting wat ek as vrywilliger ontvang het ... die opleiding wat ons ontvang het, kon my gemeenskap, wat glo aan toordery en sangomas ... wat glo dat kanker n witmens siekte is, se hele ingesteldheid verander ... so my betrokkenheid by KANSA projekte en pasiënte was en is nog die beste besluit ooit.”

Ella Pretorius: Kanker pasiënte lê my baie na aan my hart. Ek het ‘n passie in my om betrokke te wil wees by kanker pasiënte...Dis n siekte waarvoor niemand vra en min verstaan dît wat nou met hul gebeur. As jy eers dieselfde pad gestap het verstaan ‘n mens waarom *Jy het KANKER * ‘n dodelike naam vir baie mense inhou wat daarmee gediagnoseer word. Ek gee om vir kanker pasiënte. Wil hul lewe help vergemaklik. Vir hul my beste gee as mens wat omgee. Wil hulle bystaan met raad en daad, en regtig my beste versorging vir hulle gee. Hul familie hulp aanbied en bearbei. Ek het ‘n absolute passie om ‘n gebeurtenis te reel, om te organiseer en terug te staan en te kyk wat ons verrig het vir die spesefieke doel. Als verloop nie altyd glad nie, maar met ‘n goeie span kan ‘n mens berge versit. Om eerlik te wees gaan dit nie vir my om die bedrag wat ingesamel word nie, maar oor die doel wat saam bereik word.”

We need what YOU can offer to CANSA and those affected by cancer,
so sign up as a volunteer today and make a difference that counts!

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