Ottawa: UAE’s Embassy in Canada offered a donation of $10,000 in memory of Gertrude Dyck, a Canadian nurse who worked in the UAE for 38 years and was known as “Doctora Latifa” by hospital staff and patients. Latifa translates to ‘merciful’ or ‘kind’.
The donation was presented by Mohammad Saif Hilal Al Shehi, UAE Ambassador to Canada, to the Hospital for Sick Children, also known as SickKids, in order to commemorate the memory of the Canadian nurse.
In 2010, President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan bestowed the Medal of Independence of the Third Order in recognition of her efforts. Dyck was also presented with the Queen’s Jubilee Medal, awarded for distinguished service and commemorating the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II. These are one of several awards bestowed on Dyck for her 40 years of outstanding service to medicine and health care in Al Ain. She was previously given her country’s highest civil award, the Order of Canada.
A devoted nurse, she helped deliver thousands of babies over many years at Al Waha Hospital. Dyck played a vital role in reducing the mortality rate of mothers and babies, and is credited with the arrival of more modern health-care practices in the area.
