Global Scholar uses dance and music to raise funds to treat kids with cancer in Ghana

Salma Fuseini, program manager for Cure Childhood Cancer Ghana, had a creative challenge before her. 

She needed to capture the hearts of the people of Ghana, her home country, in a way that resonated with them. As she and her team brainstormed, they realized something. 

“We do a lot of music, we do a lot of dancing — whether we are happy, we are sick, if we are breathing — we dance,” Fuseini said with a laugh. “Dancing is a form of expression. So, we decided to tell a story, but to tell that story in music form.” 

Through the Global Scholar Program provided by ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®, Fuseini and her team have developed core skills in storytelling and fundraising so that they can better support pediatric cancer treatment in their home country.  As part of her capstone project, Fuseini needed to spread her foundation’s message far and wide. 

That’s why Fuseini wove her campaign message into music. The message asks listeners to donate the equivalent of one U.S. dollar in Ghanaian currency. “Give 10 (Ghana cedi), save a life. That’s what we say,” Fuseini said.

In June 2026, Fuseini crossed the stage of the Domino’s Event Center on the campus of St. Jude to accept a certificate declaring her completion of the ALSAC Global Scholar Program. Through her cohort, the program officially graduated its 100th scholar.

The 10-month college-level training program is provided at no charge to member foundations who support the hospitals of the St. Jude Global Alliance®. The program includes online coursework and capstone projects implemented by each scholar in their home country. Graduates have applied their training to raise more than $30 million since 2018 to address the challenges of childhood cancer in their home countries.

Fuseini has now joined that robust alumni network. Her path to her role, curiously, began with her son’s 6th birthday party, when a friend reached out to her. The friend was a medical doctor working at a regional hospital, and she asked Fuseini if she could speak to the parents at the birthday party to help fundraise for childhood cancer treatment.  

“I gave her the platform to speak,” Fuseini said. “After she spoke, I was keen to find out more about the events, the discussion, and I just lent my support.” 

Fuseini helped her friend with an upcoming fundraiser, and upon its completion, she was offered a professional role with the foundation. “I wanted to help people, and this opportunity came. So, I jumped at it.”

While cancer survival rates exceed 80% in countries like the U.S., many low- and middle-income countries still face significantly lower rates. Cure Childhood Cancer Ghana focuses on making the cancer treatment provided at Greater Accra Regional Hospital, located in the capital city of Ghana, accessible. 

“(The hospital) is one of the few cases where we treat cancer in my country, but unfortunately, resources were scarce,” Fuseini said. “When parents came and couldn’t afford treatment, they ended up abandoning their treatment.”   

A pediatric oncologist at Greater Accra Regional Hospital had tried to change that. “She would rally the staff of the hospital to contribute their salaries, but that was not sustainable,” Fuseini said. “So, she decided to formalize this and set up the foundation.”

In September 2025, health officials announced that Ghana would be one of the first countries participating in the Global Platform for Access to Childhood Cancer Medicines, a partnership between St. Jude and the World Health Organization that aims to expand access to lifesaving quality-assured medicines for children worldwide. As a result, essential cancer medicines will be provided to diagnosed children at no cost through nine treatment centers, including Greater Accra Regional Hospital. 

Still, barriers to accessing that treatment remain. That’s when Fuseini’s organization steps in to help.

“Without the foundation’s support, they will not be able to bring their kids into treatment … we give them food, we give them clothing, we give them transportation allowance, and then we also create a platform where they can connect,” Fuseini said.  

Her organization is also helping the hospital expand capacity. “Currently there are only four beds in the facility. We’re treating about 40-plus patients a year. There’s a lot of pressure on the facility,” she said. Fuseini’s organization is helping to refurbish a unit where children would receive treatment. 

Fuseini is looking forward to continuing to support childhood cancer treatment — and she’s not the only one. On her son’s 7th birthday, the two visited Greater Accra Regional Hospital.  

“He gets there,” Fuseini recalled, “And he’s like, ‘Mummy, do babies get sick? Where is the playground?’ So, we bought toys and then we did a donation to the facility.” 

Fuseini said that now, he’s more motivated than ever to help. “His birthday is next month, and he’s asking if we can do another donation — if he can buy toys and gifts and all that,” she said, smiling. 

“Through my work and through the Global Scholars Program, I’m looking forward to a day where every child in Ghana has access to treatment irrespective of their social or financial success,” Fuseini said. “Because the determining factor for whether you get treatment or not should not be your geography.”

Learn more about Fuseini’s work at childhoodcancerghana.com/

It is estimated that 400,000 children worldwide develop cancer every year, and half of them are never diagnosed. In many low- and middle-income countries, less than 30% survive due to the lack of access to quality care. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital believes children all over the world deserve the same chance at survival and is working with doctors and foundations across the globe to make that dream a reality.