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Walking into a new beginning

Callum was born with an abnormality of his left leg that requires an ortho-prosthesis to enable him to walk and move around independently which must be consistently refitted as he grows.

Callum’s parents have always endeavoured to do everything they can to make sure their son is completely mobile enjoying an active life like other young children.

By the age of 6, Callum had already been fitted with multiple prostheses, however, the expense began to weigh heavily on the family. Not knowing how they were going to be able to provide their son’s next artificial limb, Callum’s parents reached out to Al Jalila Foundation and to their delight, their son was able to receive the much-needed support for his growing body.

“We are forever grateful to Al Jalila Foundation for giving Callum the greatest gift and most importantly for assuring my family that we are not alone in this journey with our son. Thank you very much for making a difference to our lives!”

It is with gratitude to the support from our generous donors that Callum is able to enjoy his days running around the playground with his friends at school.

Click here to see more children whose lives have been transformed.

Emirati doctor inspires students

As a promising Emirati student, Dr Mohamed Jamal dreamt of becoming a dentist and leading ground-breaking research to improve lives.

His journey began at Ajman University where he gained a Doctorate of Dental Surgery in 2005; he then continued to Boston University Institute for Dental Research and Education in Dubai where he obtained a CAGS and MSD in Endodontics in 2011 and received recognition for his outstanding work to isolate dental pulp stem cells for the first time in UAE.

A prestigious scholarship from Al Jalila Foundation allowed Dr Mohamed to obtain his PhD in 2017 from Boston University (BU) in USA. During the scholarship his work gained ‘Best Research Award’ from BU and the American Association of Endodontics (AAE). He also received the ‘Young Emirati Researchers Prize’ from the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.

“Al Jalila Foundation scholarship opened the door for me to explore science beyond what I imagined. It was a lifetime opportunity and I am thankful for it.”

An Assistant Professor of Endodontics at MBRU and member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Journal of Endodontics, Dr Mohamed Jamal hopes to contribute to the vision of moving towards a knowledge-based economy and developing top notch research themes in the Emirates.

Early detection saves lives

It had been less than a year since Dubai resident, Sirine Fadoul, had done her annual wellness check which included a breast ultrasound when she detected a very small lump.

As a young, healthy and fit woman with no history of the disease in her family, nothing suggested cancer but she took action and went to get checked quickly. To her shock, the doctor confirmed that she had stage one breast cancer. Although the cancerous tumor was discovered early Sirine still underwent two surgeries including a complete mastectomy, dozens of scans, tests and biopsies and the much-dreaded chemotherapy.

Now 1-year cancer-free, Sirine is unstoppable in her advocacy of the importance of early detection to not only save lives but to make the challenge ‘easier’.

Throughout #PINKtober Brest Friends member, Sirine has been instrumental in supporting Al Jalila Foundation by tirelessly conducting talks at schools, government entities and corporates highlighting the importance of awareness, helping others and investing in local medical research.

Sirine has a great network of friends and knows firsthand that “A strong support system in the way of friends and family and groups such as Brest Friends are invaluable to recovery.”

Watch Sirine’s Story of Hope here.