Local students are moving forward to provide low-income cancer victims with a ‘lift’ here in the capital.
As part of a school project aimed at making a difference in the world, Arshia Radmard and Marcus Caller, came up with the idea to help cancer patients get the treatment they need by providing free, volunteer transportation services.
“Since my mom is a doctor at the Gulf International Cancer Centre (GICC), she would talk about the poor people that were having difficulty commuting to the centre to receive their treatment,” said Radmard. “I knew that cancer is a big threat to human health and in my mind I thought that’s not fair.”
Cancer centres in the capital offer both chemotherapy and surgery treatments to patients, however the GICC, located 40km away from the city centre, is the only facility to offer radiotherapy. With no overnight staying options, the daily treatment regime proves difficult to patients without personal transportation.
The Grade 5 students at Raha International School are eager to raise awareness about this issue.
“What surprised me is how difficult it is to get there using public transport; going there from down town with a taxi costs AED 215 for each day of treatment,” says Radmard. “Another way of getting there is using the bus line. This is about two to three hour commute each way. Now imagine you have a serious disease and are already weak from surgeries and chemotherapy, how difficult is this journey everyday?”
To avoid patients skipping daily treatments, Radmard is asking the public to volunteer to drive patients to the facility in their spare time. “
He said: “They have to realise that even voulunteering for one day is a great help for these poor patients.”
For more information visit their Facebook page, Cancer Care UAE. Volunteers can also offer transport services or donate funds to the Patient Transportation Fund at the GICC centre by calling: 02 563 5558.
