Still in his mother’s womb doctors detected a serious problem with Zain’s growing heart. Zain’s parents anticipated his welcome with a mixture of joy and anxiety unsure of what lay ahead as there was no choice but to wait until his arrival to discover how severe the situation was.

Unfortunately, upon his birth it was confirmed that Zain had a congenital heart defect, Tetralogy of Fallot, and his survival was dependent on critical open-heart surgery.

“With advice from the doctors we sought help from Al Jalila Foundation and were thrilled to receive speedy response approving our request for Zain’s treatment. We were overwhelmed with relief and grateful for the end to our sleepless nights.”

At 10-months, Zain underwent the vital surgery conducted by specialist cardiologists at Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital. Today Zain, almost 2-years-old, is regularly monitored by the medical team and is a happy, healthy toddler with a full life ahead of him.

Cardiovascular disease is the world’s number one cause of death and Zain’s inspiring story is one of hundreds who have overcome heart disease with the support of Al Jalila Foundation.

Aya Akhras’ lifelong dream was to help people and while excelling at biology in high school she set her sights on becoming a doctor. Thanks to her exceptional academic record, in 2016, Aya gained admission to the Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Healthcare Sciences (MBRU) College of Medicine to pursue a Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) with a scholarship from Al Jalila Foundation.

“The Al Jalila Foundation scholarship and studying at MBRU give me a great sense of accomplishment and I feel honored to be recognised for my efforts while doing what I love.”

Over the past 3 years, Aya has proven herself a worthy candidate for the sought after scholarship and participated in an internship at Queens University in Belfast, a summer research program at Mayo Clinic and an observership at Cleveland Clinic. Aya is also very involved in student life at MBRU and in addition to her rigorous academic schedule Aya is an aspiring baker who sees baking as a way of spreading happiness and connecting people.

Expected to graduate in 2022, Aya believes that the physician of the future is a multi-faceted individual capable of displaying their talents in many ways. “I see myself practicing as a physician, researcher and hopefully obtaining a position in academia, as I am passionate about medical education and educating the physicians of the digital age.”

Khalid Al Ali is a young Emirati man with an enchanting smile and a strong will. The 26-year-old athlete – an international swimmer and a member of the UAE National Swim Team – has a long list of hobbies that include horseback riding, sailing and kayaking.

He has also participated in international sports championships in several countries including representing the UAE in kayaking in the Special Olympics World Games held in Abu Dhabi in 2019.

Born with Down syndrome, Khalid has become an inspiring young man, thanks to his perseverance and his family’s support. His Father enrolled in Al Jalila Foundation’s ‘Ta’alouf’ program, which trained him to communicate better with Khalid and understand his feelings and behaviour, helping the family to further empower him towards fulfilling his potential and meeting his aspirations.

Ta’alouf has empowered hundreds of parents and teachers with each one of them working daily to bring inclusiveness into our community, homes, classrooms and playgrounds so every child has the opportunity to thrive and experience all that life has to offer.

Watch Khalid’s Story of Hope here.

The first smile of Bana Nizar Hassan, a nine-year-old Sudanese girl, after her surgery at Al Jalila Children’s Specialty Hospital, is a moment her father will never forget. Since birth, Bana has suffered from a complete failure of her left kidney and atrophy of her right kidney – a condition that affects one in 1,000 children.

Bana spent the first years of her life enduring all kinds of treatments and medications until it was finally decided that a kidney transplant would save her life.

After a long search for a donor and completing the necessary tests, Bana has become the first child to undergo kidney transplant surgery in Dubai, thanks to Al Jalila Foundation’s ‘Farah’ program.

Her case not only represented a significant medical achievement, but also reflected a model of cooperation between nine government and private health entities that worked in parallel to ensure a smooth and quick kidney transplant was carried out within the critical 12-hour window after the donor had passed away in Abu Dhabi.

Today, thanks to the surgery, Bana is able to lead a normal and healthy life.

Watch Bana’s Story of Hope here.

Dr Anas Al Salami is 1 of 4 outstanding Al Jalila Foundation Scholarship recipients to graduate as part of the ‘Class of 2018’ from Mohammed Bin Rashid University of Medicine and Healthcare Sciences (MBRU). In addition to earning a Masters of Paediatric Dentistry from MBRU, Dr Anas received the prestigious ‘Young Healthcare Professional Award’ by Dubai Healthcare City Authority. Dr Anas’ childhood dream was to become a dentist and through his academic career discovered his passion to serve as a Paediatric Dentist recognising that oral health and hygiene begins in infancy.

Dr Anas is highly recognised for breaking boundaries both locally and internationally by holding the highest score in the Tri-Collegiate Membership in Paediatric Dentistry Examination of the Royal College of Surgeons Edinburgh (2017) and the highest rank in MSc Pediatric Dentistry Program at MBRU (2017). In recognition of his outstanding achievements Dr Anas has recently been appointed as Lecturer & Specialist in Pediatric Dentistry at MBRU.

The young healthcare professional is an example as an academic, professional, volunteer and humanitarian. His achievements include providing oral health protocol to the Ministry of Interior for all jail nurseries in the UAE, and participating in initiatives like the Oral Health Camp for GCC Unified Week for oral care; Hamdan Bin Mohammed Oral Hygiene Initiative for Workers; Smile for Life Campaign; and Al Ihsan Charity Association oral health screening program for school children in Dubai.

Al Jalila Foundation has already awarded 59 scholarships to outstanding medical students in its mission to bolster the medical workforce in the UAE.

Marwa, 21, had undergone a heart transplant in Germany where she stayed for more than 3 years after surgery to receive essential post-operative care.

Upon returning to the UAE it was vital, as part of the treatment plan for a post heart transplant, she continue to do regular follow-ups, catheter and heart biopsy, to check if there is a rejection of the new heart.

Lack of medical insurance posed a great difficulty and with such a serious medical condition it was imperative that Marwa undergo the necessary catheter procedure right away.

With Al Jalila Foundation’s support the treatment was carried out at Cleveland Clinic, Abu Dhabi with Dr Feras Bader who is the only doctor in the UAE able to perform this type of highly skilled specialist treatment.

Marwa expressed, “After many years of treatment away from home I was very physically and mentally tired and the support was everything I needed to continue to be strong and push through. I give great thanks and gratitude and the highest praise for the attention, care and help I received from Al Jalila Foundation and the medical team which is more than I can hope to repay.”

Read Marwa’s Story of Hope here.

Mohammed Ayoub was one of our first A’awen patients, he was the face of 7EmiratesRun and the inspiration for Al Jalila Foundation’s iMcan program which provides prothesis to those in need.

6-year-old Mohammed was born with severe congenital limb deformities and over the years we have watched Mohammed blossom from a shy toddler into a confident young boy. He has since joined #TeamAlJalila at many events and even took part in the TECOM We Walk to inspire other children of determination.

Mohammed recently had the opportunity to be part of the Ottobock Running Clinic in Dubai run by Paralympic world champion and gold medalist, Heinrich Popow, and trialed a running prostheses for the first time. It has long been Mohammed’s wish to run and play football with his friends and siblings and when Mohammed put on the ‘running blade’ and was shown by Heinrich what he could do the thrill of being able to run freely was impossible to hide. Watching the Olympian and listening to his story of triumph and how he used his disability to the best of his ability, had Mohammed in awe and clearly made a lasting impression on the young boy. As the day came to an end Mohamed exclaimed “I want to run fast like Heinrich, I want to go to the Olympics”.

Since 1990 the UAE has been an avid champion for young children like Mohammed with sports being encouraged to all children of all abilities. In 2019 Abu Dhabi hosted the Special Olympics World Games and showed the world the UAE’s commitment to creating a more inclusive society and ensuring the happiness of people of determination so that children like Mohamed can realise their dreams. As we follow Mohammed’s journey he continues to inspire us with his childlike enthusiasm and ambition.