Dubai: Parents who lost a daughter to cancer in 2010 have founded a new charity to help other children who are battling the ravages of the fatal disease.
Dubai-based Dana Al Askari and Hassan Alami named the charity Omniyat Dania in partnership with the Al Jalila Foundation.
The aim of the new organisation is to reach out to little children suffering from different kinds of cancers. The parents announced the charity on occasion of World Cancer Day which is observed on February 4.
Their daughter, Dania, who was barely nine and half years old, was diagnosed with a rare form of connective tissue cancer rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) in April 2008 which accounts for just three per cent of childhood cancers worldwide.
She had an earache one morning which her family thought was some adenoid problem.
However, a scan confirmed their worst fears. The family immediately took to take her to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Hospital in the US where she received treatment. She eventually developed chemotherapy-induced leukaemia in 2010. Her body that had withstood the trauma of 12 cycles of chemotherapy and 30 days of radiation could not take the strain and, despite a successful bone marrow transplant from her elder brother, she finally passed away on June 21, 2010, a week short of her 13th birthday.
“Omniyat means hope and I want every child diagnosed with the dreadful condition to have that. A 100 per cent of the funds raised through Omniyat Dania will be invested into funds and research into childhood cancer. No child should be turned away because of a lack of funds. Dania was a lovely girl full of laughter. She was stoic and had tremendous courage. We had to spend an entire year at Sloan Kettering Memorial Hospital in the US and staying away from family took its emotional toll on me and her,” said Dana, who continues to meet the nurses and doctors in Sloan Kettering each year to understand the things they do to ease the pain of children through art and crafts and other fun activities that can bring smiles to the faces of the kids.
Before starting the charity, Dana introduced the Cart. Dania’s cart used to pay a visit to Tawam Hospital once a month and Dubai Hospital once a week to bring joy and smiles to the faces of the suffering children.
“My charity will attempt to fund research in cancer so parents will eventually find a ‘one stop shop’ for treatment. My dream is to leave a legacy behind through this charity. Children eventually can be treated here and do not have to be separated from their families for treatment in the US or the UK. My charity will be a conduit for raising funds which will directly go to the Al Jalila Foundation. People can directly donate to the Omniyat Dania giving page,” said Dana.
