Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs, has received The Golden Humanitarian Personality of the Year award by the Watani Emarat Humanitarian Work Award. This is in recognition of her contribution to humanitarian work locally and internationally as well as Her Highness’ unlimited support for cancer patients and refugee children.
The honour came during a ceremony at the Intercontinental Hotel Dubai, organised by the Watani Emarat Foundation under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation.
The award ceremony, themed, this is What Sheikh Zayed Loves, was the commemoration of the 11th death anniversary of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The award was first launched in 2013 to coincide with the UAE Humanitarian Work Day on 19th of Ramadan to honour Emiratis who reflect charitable values.
Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, said, “It is a great honour for anyone of us to have their name attached to an award that commemorates a pillar of humanitarian work and the founding father of the UAE, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the great leader from whom we learnt the love of humanity, philanthropy and helping the underprivileged.”
Her Highness stressed that the humanitarian approach laid down by the late Sheikh Zayed, which is continued by our current leadership, has resulted in the UAE being ranked first as the world’s biggest donor of foreign aid for the second time in 2014, compared to its gross national income.
Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi added, “I consider this honour to be a new duty and a new challenge. I ask Allah to guide me to continue my humanitarian work, mobilise local and international support and develop plans and strategies in order to help all needy and vulnerable people in all parts of the world. I wish to stand by their side and lend them a helping hand, particularly refugees, cancer patients and vulnerable women.”
Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher is known for her great commitment to helping the needy and advocating for vulnerable people making her one of the most influential figures in the Arab world. This led to her appointment as UNHCR Eminent Advocate for Refugee Children, and the International Ambassador of the World Cancer Declaration for Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), and International Ambassador for Childhood Cancer for UICC.
Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi launched the Big Heart Campaign in 2013, later becoming the Big Heart Foundation dedicated to helping refugees and people in need worldwide. The Foundation has provided hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees with emergency healthcare and relief materials such as clothing, blankets, shelter and food. The Big Heart also focused on education in order to bring Syrian refugee children back to school after their education was disrupted by the current crisis.
In 1999, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi founded the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP) as a cancer specific charity dedicated to spreading public awareness about cancer and providing all forms of assistance to cancer patients and their families. Since its inception, FoCP launched several initiatives, most notably the Kashf programme, the Pink Caravan and Mole Talk, that have contributed significantly to raising community awareness about different types of cancer, and provided free screenings and assistance to cancer patients and their families across the UAE.
The humanitarian initiatives launched by Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi have been helpful to millions of people in the world. In July 2014, Her Highness donated EGP 10 million (AED5 million) to Children’s Cancer Hospital 57357 in Egypt, to provide treatment and healthcare to ease the suffering of children with cancer. A new wing of the hospital has been named after Her Highness in recognition of her generosity.
Last May, in collaboration with the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC), Her Highness launched the International Childhood Cancer Fund with a view to provide support to children with cancer worldwide, and donated US$1 million through The Big Heart Foundation, to be the fund’s first revenue.
On World Refugee Day, June 20, the Big Heart Foundation announced a donation of US$500,000 to support Syrian and Turkish women who fled their homes in fear of gender-based violence or those who live under the threat of such violence.
Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Al Qasimi also sponsors needy families, children with special needs and orphans, and has also adopted strategies for empowering girls and women in education, employment and volunteerism through the launch of community-based initiatives to support these groups and better serve the UAE.