Global cancer fund launched in memory of UAE's Ameera Binkaram

Sharjah - The initiative by Sharjah's Shaikha Jawaher is in recognition of BinKaram's contribution to humanitarian work. She died in a villa fire earlier this month.

Following the untimely demise of the much-loved UAE humanitarian Ameera BinKaram, Shaikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Founder and Royal Patron of the Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP), has launched an 'Ameera Fund' to support cancer patients worldwide.
The gesture has been made as a tribute to the late Ameera BinKaram who tragically died, along with her sister and mother, in a villa fire last Saturday. Shaikha Jawaher's initiative is in recognition of BinKaram's rich contribution to humanitarian work.
The move aims to memorialise her tireless efforts and to urge others to follow her voluntary and charitable approach in supporting cancer patients in the UAE and beyond. Shaikha Jawaher announced the donation of the first contribution to the Ameera Fund and called on all individuals and organisations to support the fund through donations.
She underlined that BinKaram had always believed in the need to help cancer patients, especially those who cannot afford the treatment of the costs.
BinKaram had encouraged activate community engagement in covering the costs for cancer sufferers from her belief that a community shoulders a moral and humanitarian responsibility towards such patients wherever they are in the world.
"In recognition of Ameera BinKaram's incredible contribution to humanitarian work, we decided to continue achieving the noble goals that she strived for with such commitment and dedication throughout her lifetime," Shaikha Jawaher said in a highly emotional statement. The Ameera Fund will operate under the umbrella and supervision of The Big Heart Foundation - a Sharjah-based global humanitarian charity dedicated to helping refugees and people in need worldwide. Projects and initiatives approved by the fund will be implemented by the FoCP, while the fund will generate income through donation campaigns and contributions from across the world.
Paying rich tribute to Ameera BinKaram, Shaikha Jawaher said: "Ameera BinKaram was a humanitarian icon and a symbol of community work in Sharjah and the UAE. She was a model of giving, sacrifice and dedication for Emirati women, the nation and the entire world. She worked tirelessly to alleviate suffering and to promote a supportive environment for women's empowerment. Her departure from this world has left a void in the lives of everyone who knew her and who had benefitted from the amazing accomplishments she attained throughout her life.
"The Ameera Fund will commemorate BinKaram's indefatigable spirit in order carry on along the path she forged for cancer patients, as well as their relatives, who are in need. The support provided by the fund will ensure the continuance of the initiatives that BinKaram contributed to and to which she remained faithful to right up to the last day of her life."
BinKaram was also active in the empowerment of women and encouraging them to effectively participate in economic development, as well as promoting entrepreneurship, fighting non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and advocating social responsibility. In the last years of her life, Ameera BinKaram dedicated most of her time and effort to combating cancer through the FoCP, which was founded in 1999.
Since its inception she led and supervised numerous initiatives and campaigns launched by the FoCP to raise awareness about cancer and provide necessary treatment for patients, in addition to providing psychological and moral support for cancer patients and their families.