On March 27, 2026, the Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration’s Pediatric Palliative Care Fellowship Program hosted its annual Faculty Appreciation Event, bringing together fellows, alumni, and faculty members from across the world for a virtual gathering dedicated to gratitude, reflection, and community.
The Pediatric Palliative Care Fellowship Program continues to grow as a global learning community focused on improving care for children with serious illnesses. At the heart of the program is a dedicated group of faculty members whose mentorship, teaching, and leadership have shaped the professional journeys of fellows across many countries. The event provided an opportunity to recognize their contributions not only as educators, but also as mentors and leaders building pediatric palliative care capacity globally.
The event began with opening remarks by Dr. Nusrat Jahan, who emphasized the importance of mentorship and the role faculty play in guiding future practitioners of pediatric palliative care.
Dr Gayatri Palat, Directorof the Hyderabad Centre for Palliative Care and Co-Director for PPC fellowship program, reflected on the growth of the program and the field in the region, sharing her pride in the global community that has developed over the years and congratulating both graduates and new fellows who recently joined the program. She highlighted that the fellowship is a shared journey of learning, collaboration, and service.
A reflective moment during the event came when Dr Spandana Rayala, Co-Director for PPC fellowship program & Associate Director, Sunflower Children’s Network, Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration, shared the poem To Be of Use by Marge Piercy and introduced the word “Provenance” as a theme for the year. She described provenance as the origin and history of something and related it to the fellowship program, explaining that the program now belongs to everyone who has been part of it. The teaching, mentorship, and relationships built over the years have created shared ownership and collective responsibility for the program’s future.
Alumni fellows from India, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Bhutan, Nepal, and the Philippines joined the celebration and shared messages of appreciation and reflections on how the fellowship has influenced their clinical work, professional growth andthe way they care for children and families, teach colleagues, and develop services in their regions.
Videos from previous fellowship cohorts were also shared, highlighting memorable moments, teamwork, and the work fellows are doing in their own countries. These reflections showed how the fellowship has grown into a strong international network committed to improving children’s palliative care.
Dr. Megan Doherty, Program Director, Pediatric Palliative Care, Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration, warmly welcomed current and alumni fellows and appreciated their continued commitment to remain part of the fellowship community and contributing to pediatric palliative care in their regions. Adding a poetic reflection on how teachers light up the path for students and how during the fellowship as a community we share knowledge, compassion and mentorship and see it being paid forward within their own communities. , Dr Megan shared a passage from the novel ‘A Bookshop in Algiers’.
“They were used to waiting for orders and being told how to live. Now they decided to live as they pleased, simply, not listening to anyone, and everyone was lit up, truly, as when we find the match and the lamp, the house is illuminated, and we know at last where to reach for what we need, as when the dawn lights up a larger dwelling, and a part of the world that has been smothered by night’s mud with its valleys, rivers, hills, and forests is revealed in all its living joy.”
As the event concluded, the virtual chat was filled with messages of appreciation and gratitude from across different countries and time zones. The gathering served as a reminder that while pediatric palliative care work can be emotionally demanding, the global community built through this fellowship continues to provide support, inspiration, and a shared sense of purpose.
The Faculty Appreciation Event once again highlighted that the strength of the Pediatric Palliative Care Fellowship Program lies not only in its curriculum, but in its people, its mentorship, and the global community that continues to grow year after year.
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