UAE Helping Hands: Student donates Dh10,000 prize to man who can’t afford dialysis

Jumeirah College student Saarah Munshi won a Gems Education competition. Chris Whiteoak for The National

ABU DHABI // After the painful death of her grandfather at the end of six years of dialysis, 14-year-old Saarah Munshi wanted to find a way to help others affected by kidney disease.

That opportunity came when she read about Mohammed Jumma, 56, from Syria.

Saarah, from the UK, won a competition run by her school’s operator to design a logo for a Gems Rewards programme and scooped a Dh10,000 prize.

After learning of Mr Jumma's plight in The National's Helping Hands page, she decided to donate the entire amount to his family, who are struggling after he lost his job.

If he does not continue the four-times-per-week treatment he has undergone for the past two years he will lose his fight, leaving his eight-year-old daughter and wife behind.

“The plight of Mr Jumma is something we as a family are very familiar with,” said Saarah, a Grade 9 pupil at Jumeirah College, which is run by Gems Education.

“My grandfather was a dialysis patient for the last six years of his life. I’m aware of the difficulties such people face without access to the treatment which is exhausting and without having to worry about how to pay for it. I am hoping my donation will assist him (Mr Jumma) in his hour of need.”

Mr Jumma lost his job and used up his limited savings, as The National reported in March. The newspaper runs the public appeal weekly with Dar Al Ber Society.

“I have asked every charity for help and Dar Al Ber has supported my treatment for a long time but there are other people in need and they can’t cover my entire treatment,” he said at the time.

He cannot go back to his home country because of the war there. He lives in Dubai with his wife and eight-year-old daughter, who has been told to leave school because her parents cannot afford the cost of her tuition.

“We have nowhere to turn to. I’ll find a job to support my daughter but I need help with dialysis,” Mr Jumma said.

Three months of dialysis treatment costs Dh40,000, not including medication.

The prize money will go to Dar Al Ber, where it will be directed to Mr Jumma.

“Saarah is a student that makes the most of every opportunity available to her,” said Mr O’Regan, her tutor at Jumeirah College.

“She is a true leader in the class and is always looking for ways to support and help others. She volunteers her time for school activities and can always be relied upon to follow through on her commitments.”

Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of zakat and social services at Dar Al Ber, said that donations like Saarah’s save lives.

“If not for the donations we receive from people like Saarah many of the cases we receive would perish and families would suffer. Charities can only do so much on their own. ”