University of Bahrain is a Milestone for the Winners of “Isa Award for Service to Humanity”

The President of the University of Bahrain, Prof. Riyad Yousef Hamzah said, “It is a great honor for me and my colleagues at the University of Bahrain to meet the winners of the “Isa Award for Service to Humanity”, and to get to know closely about their great humanitarian project in the Children’s Cancer Hospital in the Arab Republic of Egypt”. Prof. Hamzah indicated that the award, which was launched by His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of the Kingdom of Bahrain, carries many meanings stating, “Firstly, our commemoration of the great personality of the great late Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, may God rest his soul in peace, and the great services he has provided are still present in all fields. Secondly, the award also reflects the spirit of the Leadership of the Kingdom of Bahrain and its noble people, who are aspired to serve humanity and contribute to its advancement and progress”. Prof. Hamzah stressed the great importance of the “Isa Award for Service to Humanity” to honor the volunteer work that serves humanity and encourages it, which has taken its place at the global level due to the accuracy of the Award choices to those who tirelessly give to humanity and create hope for the vulnerable groups to strengthen humanism and volunteerism.

The award was given the name after the late Amir of Bahrain, Shaikh Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa, may his soul rest in peace, to celebrate his dedicated efforts for humanity, and his outstanding role in the renaissance and the rise of the country. The Board of Trustees of the Award has announced that the Children’s Cancer Hospital in the Arab Republic of Egypt has won the third cycle of the award. The winner is awarded a certificate of appreciation, a special gold medal, and prize money of one million US dollars.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Children’s Cancer Hospital in the Arab Republic of Egypt, Prof. Amr Ezzat Salama, expressed his pride to win the third cycle of the “Isa Award for Service to Humanity”. He also expressed his happiness for this appreciation and praise as the prize represents a high moral and material value. The award was established by His Majesty King Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa in 2009 to serve humanity.

In an open meeting with the faculty and administration members and students at the University of Bahrain yesterday (Sunday), Prof. Salama praised the support provided by the Kingdom of Bahrain to the hospital since the first idea ofestablishing it. The meeting was conducted with the presence of Prof. Riyad Yousef Hamzah, the President of the University, Ali Abdullah Khalifa, the Secretary General of the “Isa Award for Service to Humanity”, and Vice-Chairmen of the University. The founders toured the Arab countries and the Kingdom of Bahrain was their first stop. The winning of “Isa Award for Service to Humanity” came in order to motivate more efforts to serve cancer-stricken children.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees pointed out the importance of charitable contributions to the success of humanitarian projects, stressing that some of the objectives of the hospital are to achieve sustainability and provide distinctive health care, provide distinguished education, and advanced scientific research. He said that working in a team spirit, cooperation and sincerity in service are all reasons for the success of this unique experience at the level of the Arab world.

Prof. Salama added that we look forward to being globally unique as a model for change towards a cancer-free childhood by building an institution that has the capacity to sustain, develop and grow to treat and prevent cancer through scientific research, advanced education, and quality of health care. This care is provided evenly and gently to alleviate the suffering of children with cancer and their families.
Prof. Salama announced that the hospital is currently working on the establishment of future projects including: establishing a new, environmentally friendly and energy-saving hospital annex with 300 beds. In addition, the establishment of atraining academy for the Children’s Cancer Hospital 57357 for health care sciences to prepare a new generation of professional health care providers who are able to provide high quality service. Besides the establishment of an advanced research center to develop treatment methods and improve healing rates.

Prof. Salama said that the quality of medical service provided by the hospital and the high rate of recovery in the hospital which reaches 73.7% led to an increase in demand for treatment from all over Egypt. This led to thinking of expansion projects so that the hospital can receive the largest number of patients.

The Chief Executive Officer of 57357 Egypt Group, Prof. Sherif Abu Al-Naja, spoke about the first beginnings of the establishment of the hospital, stressing that the first forms of support were from the late Shaikh Metwally Al-Sharawi, may he rest in peace, who encouraged them to continue to achieve their dream and vision. He added that in the ten years following the establishment there have been continuous flows of donors who provided the moral and material support necessary to create a prosperous program for the treatment of children with cancer. These donations made us move from a suite of eight beds and a small modern outpatient clinic to a 320-bed department and a modern outpatient clinic that receives 150 patients per day and 1,200 new cases during the year.

Prof. Abu Al-Naga said, “This hospital is unique in its story, as it has been built and worked from the beginning until the present time through donations. Its mission and vision have inspired the Egyptians from various groups”. He stressed that it is a living example of what can be achieved through team work that believes in one goal.

The President of the University, Prof. Hamzah, presented a commemorative shield to the Children’s Hospital Foundation on this occasion.

The Children’s Cancer Hospital was established in 2007. Its mission was to provide the best care and treatment opportunities free of charge for all cancer patients without any discrimination.

Both the Chief Operating Officer of the Children’s Cancer Hospital, Prof. Wael Eweida, and the Chairman of Board of Directors of the Association of Friends of the National Cancer-free Initiative, Engineer Lotfi Al-Badrawi, spoke about the services provided by the hospital.

In its second cycle, the prize was awarded to the founder of the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences and Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology in India, Dr Achyuta Samanta. The first cycle of the award was given to founder of MERCY Malaysia, Dr. Jemilah Mahmood.