New junior mayor turns his cancer challenge into mission of hope

Diagnosed with metastatic paraganglioma (cancer) when he was a young child, Jason Kilian, 17, has changed the narrative of a potentially life-threatening disease to one that gives other people hope.

The Pearson High School Grade 11  pupil was recently appointed mayor of the Junior City Council (JCC).

“People rarely understand when I say I am thankful for the Lord that I had the opportunity to go through this,” he said.

“So I have cancer, but it has been more of a miracle story written by God, than anything else. 

“The experience I have had with this condition has shaped me into being the person I am who yearns to help others.

“I am not suffering, nor do I have symptoms that hinder me from doing things, and I am very thankful for this.

“It is, because it helped me turn into the person I am today, through those experiences. 

“This is a perfect example of how God uses a bad situation to work out for your good.

“I just happen to have something that allowed me to experience things, that helped determine who I want to be.”

Jason is very excited about his appointment as JCC mayor, a role he takes seriously

“I hope to better the lives of the people in our communities,” he said.

“To create a safe and clean environment for children to play in and provide people with essentials that they do not have [donate items that people are in desperate need of]. 

“I want the JCC to maximise the impact we can have, spreading generosity and love.

“The projects we run must be successful and have an impact. 

“We will be repeating the successful hospital drive, where we made up parcels [which contained toothpaste, a toothbrush, soap, a facecloth, bottle of water and a slab of chocolate] and donate them to government hospitals’ children’s wards. 

“We are still going to donate the parcels collected this year, and some have already been donated to MES [Mould Empower Serve].

“There will also soon be a donation going to an orphanage where the boys will receive body wash and spray and the girls will receive body wash and a facecloth. 

“JCC will arrange clean-ups at various destinations that desperately need it.

“We will also be looking at donating school shoes to pupils who don’t have shoes.

The JCC also has a continuous project where we collect bottle tops to eventually help raise funds for wheelchairs to be bought for people who can’t afford one.”

Jason, who enjoys playing chess and takes flying lessons at the Nelson Mandela Bay School of Flight, took the chance to get involved in the JCC when one of his teachers told him about an opportunity to become the new junior representative for their school.

“I quickly learnt about what the JCC does and their involvement with the community and I was immediately in love with what the JCC stands for and strives to do,” he said. 

“It is my faith that resulted in this intense desire I have to help others.

“In loving Jesus, this allowed me to have a great love for all people and a will to help others even if they have different beliefs or ideologies, since I still love them the same. 

“That’s what makes JCC so special. No matter who you are, we love you and that’s why we try to better the lives of others.

“I knew the JCC was the platform I was looking for to make the change I so desperately wanted to make.

“I immediately applied for the position and  I got it,” he said.

However, if it wasn’t for the intervention of  Algoa Bay Rotary Club, the JCC would have been discontinued because the previous club did not have the capacity to manage it.

Rotary Club of Algoa Bay president Marilyn Woods oversees the JCC.

Jason, who is fourth in his grade academically at present, is interested in pursuing engineering occupations after school or becoming a charted accountant.

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