By Muna Ahmed www.emirates247.com
It was a dream-come-true for Meera, who suffers from Thalassemia but has a wishlist. Floating in like a princess, the five-year-old from Kalba had a day she, and all around her, would remember forever when she walked into Burj Khalia – the world’s tallest tower.
Treated like a true princess from her favourite fairy tale, Meera could fulfill her wish thanks to Make A Wish Foundation that takes care of children like her.
Surviving with regular blood transfusion since she was six months old, for which she is brought to Sharjah every three weeks, Meera will have lots to talk about over her visit to the world’s tallest tower.
In pain, most of the time, Meera had reasons to smile, laugh and be happy like the little princess in fairy tales and for once forget she would soon have to endure the blood transfusion procedure that could last up to seven hours at a time.
Her elated mother said: “Meera is the second child in our family. We have two other healthy kids, Mohammed aged 7 years and Mariya aged 4 years.”
Always wanting to be a Snow White or Cinderella, this trip to Dubai is special for Meera and her mother.
“She has a wide imagination. She is a very loving and caring kid. She is humble and she loves taking care of other kids, and she is very smart and intelligent. Despite her illness, she is very determined in such a young age to fight the disease and live a happy life. She is older than her age,” says her mother who is always there to take care of the little child.
“We surprised her at the hospital. She didn’t know that today she will live like a princess. A limousine picked her up, she wore a beautiful dress and crown. She distributed gifts to other kids at the Thalassemia Centre and she went atop Burj Khalifa, everything making her so happy.”
The foundation is chaired by Shaikha Shaikha bint Saif Al Nahyan, Chairman of Make A Wish Foundation and wife of Shaikh Sultan bin Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the Consultant of the President.
In 2010, the foundation fulfilled the wishes of 180 children. Among them, 100 wishes were all fulfilled by Shaikh Sultan.
Dr Essam Dohair, Vice Chairman, Make A Wish Foundation in UAE said that the main aim of the foundation is to fulfill the wishes of children who suffer from life threatening disease and who are aged between 4 to 14 years.
Children suffering from life-threatening conditions such as cancer, thalassemia, serious disabilities, birth deformities are provided everything to fulfill their wishlist.
“We have direct orders from the Chairman to fulfill the wishes as soon as possible. This is so after a girl died before we were able to fulfill her wish. This made the Chairman very sad, and since then, we do our best to fulfill all the wishes quickly,” Dohair said.
He pointed out that the wishes they fulfill are not only for national, but also expatriate children.
“All the wishes which we fulfill fall under three main categories: 1. I want to see – where we take them to places such as Disney Land; 2. I want to own – where they want to obtain things like laptops or cameras; 3. I want to meet: where they want to meet the President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan or His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE’s Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, or His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chief of UAE’s Armed Forces and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.”
