Dubai: Two expat students in Dubai are raising money for children diagnosed with cancer in Mumbai, India.
Mehr Bhatia, 16, a Grade 11 student of Jumeirah College (JC) and her sister Shenaya, 12, are volunteers at Helping Hands Foundation, an Indian-based non-profit organisation, which works for cancer-stricken children.
Free stay project
The sisters are actively involved in the foundation’s ‘accommodation project’ which provides free stay for cancer children at Mumbai’s Tata Memorial Hospital. The project also provides free accommodation for parents at the hospital.
“We don’t take donations in order to raise funds for this project. What we do instead is sell good quality organic nuts for a certain price, the proceeds of which all go to the project. A packet of nuts priced Dh40 can fund a night’s stay of a child at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. So every packet of nuts bought from us helps a child with cancer get free accommodation at the hospital,” said Mehr.
Fundraising
The nuts are sourced from India and sold here in the UAE at local events and exhibitions. “The organisers give us a free space to have a kiosk in order to sell these products,” said Shenaya who is in Grade 7.
Mehr and her sister Shenaya are also involved in a Helping Hands survivor project which collects money for the education of cancer children.
“The survivors project aims to rehabilitate sick children and take care of their medical treatment. The average cost of on-going treatment for children with cancer in India is around Dh5,000. This includes regular doctor check-ups, chemotherapy and radiation treatment. Our aim is to provide accommodation for every single child who comes to Mumbai for treatment thereby ensuring zero abandonment due to lack of accommodation,” said Mehr.
