Ishaka Market in Bushenyi District comes alive in the morning – vendors calling out, produce stacked in careful piles, the smell of fruit in the heat. Between teaching Kiswahili and Entrepreneurship at Tinditwie Girls School, Shamim Nnamwange has also run her fruit stall here for three years. She knows her customers, the market’s rhythms, and the weight of a day’s work. She also knows what it means to sit beside someone you love who is suffering.
Two years ago, Shamim accompanied her elder sister through a cancer diagnosis and treatment. With limited resources, she struggled to meet the costs of transport, food, and the daily expenses that treatment demands. Compassionate strangers stepped in to support them along the way, making it possible for her sister to continue receiving care. Although her sister eventually passed away, the kindness shown to her family left a lasting impression on Shamim. Today, Shamim balances teaching, running her stand, and raising her late sister’s two children, who are currently in Senior Four and Senior Three.
Her connection with the SHiNE Child Program began unexpectedly. During a visit to a salon, she met Lydia, the Palliative Care Focal Person at Ishaka Adventist Hospital and coordinator of the SHiNE Child Program. Lydia shared stories about children living with cancer and the struggles their families face in accessing treatment. “I saw my sister in those children,” Shamim
recalls. “I knew what their families were going through because I had walked that journey myself.”
Moved by their circumstances, Shamim decided to act. She donated food to children staying at the SHiNE hostel, shared fruit during the 2026 SHiNE Cancer Run, and pledged UGX 600,000 to support families enrolled in the program. While some fellow traders at the market viewed her generosity as an attempt to seek attention, Shamim remains unwavering in her compassion.
Before meeting Lydia, Shamim had never heard of palliative care. Today, she is an advocate for compassion and community support for people living with serious illnesses. She calls upon community members to stand with families facing difficult health challenges and to support them in whatever way they can.
Her story reflects a belief at the heart of SHiNE: meaningful care does not come only from hospitals or health professionals. It also comes from neighbors, market vendors, donors, and community members who recognize suffering and respond with compassion.
Shamim chose to give because she understood firsthand the difference that support can make. Through the generous donations that support SHiNE, children living with cancer and their families receive help with transport, nutrition, and other essential needs that often determine whether treatment can continue. As Shamim says, “A little support can make a very big difference.”
By Austin Marchand, PCAU Intern / Volunteer