The annual Seven7 Drive, now in its latest campaign, will visit at least seven state hospitals during 2026 to bring care packages to children undergoing treatment for cancer. The visits, which take place alongside the event’s motoring route through remote parts of South Africa, place the needs of young patients and their families at the centre of the campaign.
According to Christo Valentyn, Marketing Director of the Seven7 Drive NPC, childhood cancer remains difficult to quantify in South Africa because it is relatively rare compared with diseases such as tuberculosis and HIV. Until recently, data relied on pathology-based reporting and specialist paediatric oncology centres, which do not provide an accurate picture of the disease across the country.
“The real challenge lies in the fact that South Africa’s vast landscape and often insufficient healthcare infrastructure exacerbates the misdiagnosis of the disease in its early stages when symptoms can easily be similar to other medical conditions,” Valentyn said. He added that it is estimated that less than half of children with cancer are diagnosed correctly in the early stages, with most accurate diagnoses occurring only once the disease is advanced.
The Seven7 Drive visits predominantly state hospitals, where it encounters a growing number of children each year, often accompanied by a parent or caregiver who may spend days or weeks in the paediatric oncology ward. Danie Botha, co-founder and Managing Director of the Seven7 Drive NPC, said while hospital staff take care of basic needs, simple items such as soap, toothpaste or a snack are not always easy to obtain.
“This is where the Drive delivers tangible hope through the delivery of care packages,” Botha says. “Some years, a toothbrush and a washcloth. Some years, sweets and toys. Every year we do our best to bring some joy and hope, and every year we’re faced with immense gratitude for a simple gesture that we often take for granted.”
In major metropoles such as Johannesburg, Pretoria and Cape Town, public transport and access to shops can make life in the ward slightly easier during treatment, but affordability often remains a problem. In towns such as Polokwane and Kimberley, many children and their caregivers arrive from rural areas with only what they have, and at that point the disease is the only thing that matters.
This year, the Seven7 Drive will distribute more care packs on its route through a partnership with Meals on Wheels Community Services, with additional support from Shoprite, a long-standing supporter of Meals on Wheels. Shoprite will sponsor more than 200 care packs for the 2026 mission.
JAC Motors comes in as the second automotive brand to heed the call for participation in the 2026 edition. Participating with the JAC T8 Comfort 2.0L CTi, launched in April this year and currently the most affordable double-cab available in South Africa, the T8 Range is one of three offerings JAC Motors has in South Africa, bookended by the work-focused T6 single-cab range and the leisure-focused T9 double-cab range, alongside an additional range of commercial vehicle offerings.
“It is a massive honour for us to be part of the Seven7 Drive and support children facing the challenges of cancer,” says Karl-Heinz Gobel, CEO of JAC Motors South Africa. “Knowing that our involvement can bring comfort, hope and new opportunities to these children makes this initiative truly special to us.”
The 2026 Seven7 Drive for children with cancer is scheduled to depart from the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in the City of Tshwane on 24 September 2026.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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