‘Mother of Warriors’ named Arab Hope Makers winner in Dubai
Iraqi pharmacist Dr Tala Al Khalil was named the winner of the Arab Hope Makers award in Dubai yesterday.
She and the three other finalists each received Dh1 million at the Coca-Cola Arena for their humanitarian work in the awards established by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
The other finalists were Iraqi Dr Mohamed Al Najjar, Moroccan Amin Mounier and Egyptian Fathiya Al Mahmoud. Dr Al Khalil started her humanitarian work in 2015, offering young cancer patients at the Basra Children’s Hospital hope and optimism away from a lifetime of treatment and wards.
It led to her establishing the Warriors Academy in 2018 to care for young people with various illnesses.
She now personally cares for 200 children with Down syndrome and cancer and has earned the nickname “Mother of Warriors”.
“I know the feeling of losing someone,” Dr Al Khalil told The National. “I hope the prize will help me to expand the academy and host more than 500 children.”
The awards attracted more than 58,000 nominations from the region, with the proceeds from the closing ceremony going to humanitarian causes.
Arab personalities were among more than 12,000 people at the event, where musicians Hussain Al Jassmi, Ahlam and Asala performed.
Dr Al Najjar lost a leg in 2014. A football fan since childhood, he turned his tragedy into a driver of change and hope. While studying in England, he joined the Portsmouth amputee football team and was named the club’s best player in 2019.
Back in Iraq, he formed a team that qualified for the 2022 Amputee Football World Cup in Turkey just a year later. It is now ranked 19th in the world.
Mr Mounier strives to improve living conditions for underprivileged Moroccans, documenting his efforts through his Faysboki channel.
His list of achievements includes the distribution of over 1,000 solar panels, more than 4,500 food parcels to poor families, financing 217 operations and planting 2,800 fruit trees.
Ms Al Mahmoud is known as “the mother of orphans”. After finding herself unable to have children of her own, she adopted 34 orphan girls in 2005.
With the aid of her husband, they founded A Touch of Hope, a society to care for the girls, raising them without outside help.
The couple also established a charity hospital for orphans and disabled people.