An Exclusive Interview with Ankeet Dave, Founder & Director at Access Life
Step into the world of Ankeet Dave, Founder and Director of Access Life. A visionary driven by compassion, he pioneers accessible support for underserved communities. Explore his inspiring strategies for fostering hope, equity, and lasting change.
You began your career in PR and communications before founding Access Life. What sparked your shift from corporate life to childhood cancer support?
Ankeet Dave: One hospital visit changed our lives. While volunteering, we realised that families battling childhood cancer needed much more than medicines.
Doctors and hospitals shared a painful reality—many children were abandoning treatment not because care wasn’t available, but because families had nowhere safe or dignified to stay.
Parents travelled to cities like Mumbai, Chandigarh, or Bengaluru with hope, only to feel lost outside hospital walls. That’s when we knew volunteering alone wasn’t enough. We needed to create homes—spaces of safety, dignity, and belief.
That realisation led us to move away from corporate careers and dedicate ourselves fully to building Access Life as a home away from home.
Access Life provides holistic care beyond accommodation. How did you prioritise these services while designing your model?
Ankeet Dave: Shelter was our foundation, but we quickly understood that a roof alone wasn’t enough. Families struggled to access nutritious, hygienic food and often depended on unsafe or unreliable options.
Transportation was another major challenge—parents navigating unfamiliar cities with a sick child were frequently overcharged or misled.
We also saw children missing school and parents feeling helpless as their child’s world shrank to hospital corridors. Education became essential—not just academics, but continuity and hope. Recreation followed naturally—music, art, dance, and simple play helped children feel like children again.
Counselling became equally important. Caregivers carried silent fear and exhaustion and needed a safe space to be heard. Every service—shelter, food, transport, education, recreation, and counselling—evolved by listening closely to families. Access Life grew not from a fixed plan, but from compassion in action.
What were the early challenges in setting up the first centre in 2014?
Ankeet Dave: Finding a place was our biggest challenge. Many landlords were hesitant to rent to families battling cancer due to concerns around hygiene and safety. It took us nine months to secure our first centre.
Eventually, a kind landlord trusted our intent and offered the space at a discounted rent. That moment reaffirmed our belief that people are inherently compassionate when they understand the purpose.
Hospitals were supportive from the beginning, guiding us on hygiene and safety. We started with personal savings and word of mouth, and slowly, belief turned into collective support.
Access Life works closely with hospitals, caregivers, donors, and volunteers. How do you build trust and long-term partnerships?
Ankeet Dave: Trust is built by showing up consistently and doing what we promise. Hospitals trust us because we respect medical systems and complement their work. Caregivers trust us because we listen before we act.
Donors and volunteers are encouraged to visit our centres, meet families, and understand the work firsthand. When people experience the impact personally, trust grows naturally. We believe partnerships thrive when built on empathy, transparency, and shared responsibility.
How can corporates or individuals contribute meaningfully beyond donations?
Ankeet Dave: Everyone has a role to play. Support doesn’t begin with money—it begins with belief and awareness. The simplest and most powerful way to contribute is by spreading the word: talking about Access Life with friends, family, colleagues, schools, offices, and communities.
We strongly encourage people to visit our centres, interact with families and our team, and understand the journey firsthand. That experience often changes perspectives.
Students can volunteer their time and energy, working professionals can bring in skills and networks, corporates can help amplify awareness within their organisations, and senior citizens often offer the most valuable gift of all—presence, listening, and reassurance.
When people engage at any level, they become part of the ecosystem that surrounds a child with care. Access Life is built on the belief that collective compassion—across ages, professions, and backgrounds—can create lasting impact.
Access Life operates as an ecosystem rather than a single intervention. How important is systems thinking in childhood cancer care?
Ankeet Dave: Childhood cancer is never just a medical challenge. Even the best treatment can fail if families lack food, shelter, transport, education, or emotional support.
Systems thinking helps ensure no single gap forces a family to abandon treatment. When the non-medical ecosystem is strong, hospitals and doctors can focus on healing. Real impact happens when care, compassion, and structure work together.
From your experience, what gaps remain in India’s pediatric healthcare ecosystem?
Ankeet Dave: Childhood cancer awareness still lags behind many other diseases, and stigma remains a challenge. Families often suffer quietly.
However, this is changing. Hospitals, colleges, corporates, survivors, and public figures are opening conversations. When families share their journeys, newly diagnosed parents feel less fear and more hope. Civil society plays a vital role in keeping dignity, dialogue, and emotional support at the centre of care.
Where do you see Access Life in the next 5–10 years?
Ankeet Dave: India sees nearly 75,000 new childhood cancer cases every year, and many children still abandon treatment due to lack of non-medical support. Our vision is simple: no child should discontinue treatment because their family feels alone.
We aim to expand across the country, partnering with hospitals that provide free or subsidised treatment.
We want every parent arriving in an unfamiliar city to know they will be supported. This journey has shown us how deeply compassionate we are as a nation—always stepping forward for one another. We are proud to be part of that collective kindness.
Ankeet Dave’s passion at Access Life lights the path to inclusive futures. His blueprint—empathy, innovation, action—urges us all to build bridges of support. Ready to join? Together, we can access life’s full potential for everyone.
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