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Charity champion Mohammed Al Asfoor is calling on GulfWeekly readers to step out in force at next Friday’s ninth annual Jawad Mini Marathon to help raise awareness and buy vital equipment for sufferers of hereditary blood disorder Sickle Cell Anaemia.
The 43-year-old marketing manager will be taking part in Jawad Business Group’s popular community fund-raising initiative spearheading a simple message: ‘Help the Cause, Run, Walk for Sickle Cell’.
The 5km and 8km event, which also features a family walkathon for the first time too, should be a stroll in the park for the campaigner who has piled on the miles to support the cause.
Mohammed held a meeting with the Jawad family who readily agreed to back his charitable endeavours. “I’m very excited to be a part of the mini-marathon because it’s dedicated entirely to sickle cell this year,” he said.
The sports-loving father-of-two who lives in Saar turned his passion for running into a means for supporting those in Bahrain suffering from the condition which constantly claims the lives of victims and regularly makes the headlines in the local press.
In recent months he has entered marathons in Dubai and Bahrain to spread awareness and raise funds towards the purchase of four blood exchange devices called Spectra Optia system. They cost BD26,000 each and make frequently required treatment quicker and more bearable for sufferers and helps to improve their quality of life.
All proceeds from the mini marathon, which will start and finish at Jawad Dome in Budaiya, will be donated to the Bahrain Society for Sickle Cell Anaemia Patient Care and help towards the purchase of the equipment.
Mohammed, who works for Well Flow Bahrain, a provider of clean-up tools, explained: “By using these devices, patients will no longer have to wait days to get blood transfusions completed. This equipment can cut the time down for treatment to a couple of hours, so they can get back home, to work, to spend time with the families and to get on with life.”
The devices will be set up at the Genetic Blood Disease Centre in Salmaniya.
Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a severe hereditary form of anaemia in which a mutated form of haemoglobin distorts the red blood cells. It causes episodes of excruciating pain and other symptoms. Certain conditions that can trigger ‘sickling’ include cold, infections, dehydration or low oxygen levels.
Earlier this month our sister newspaper Gulf Daily News reported that Bahraini Ali Mohammed Al Kayyes, from Bani Jamra, had become the sixth sickle cell patient to die this year.
Aged in his late thirties, he died just four days after Bahraini Qassim Mustafa Al Saegh, 27, and another 61-year-old woman died due to complications of the disease. Mr Al Kayyes’ brother, Jaffer, also lost his life to the disease in 2009.
According to information from the Bahrain Society for Sickle Cell Anaemia Patient Care, 14 people passed away from sickle cell-related causes in 2015 and 46 deaths were recorded in 2014 of which 28 were men and 18 were women. In 2013 there were 32 sickle cell-related deaths, 47 in 2012, 32 in 2011, 35 in 2010 and 25 in 2009.
“I met many athletes who had travelled miles from around the world simply to run for a cause that mattered to them,” explained Mohammed, who came up with the idea for the campaign after running the Standard Chartered Dubai Marathon last year.
“Inspired by their passion and ambition, I decided to create a campaign for sickle cell patients here,” he said. “In Bahrain, if you are not a sickle cell patient, you probably know someone suffering from the disease whether a friend, colleague or relative.
“I have people close to me that are sick with the disorder and I can see the pain they go through, although, truth be told, many suffer in silence because they know how to mask the pain. Sometimes you will not even know that they are sick until you visit them in hospital.
“Sickle cell patients struggle in many other ways too. Many have trouble finding jobs because who wants to hire someone who might be off sick regularly and hospitalised? Youngsters too find it difficult to complete their education because they miss valuable class time, as well as exams.
“While some are able to work hard to have fulfilling lives, others become depressed and give up.
“Throughout this campaign, I want to share the struggles that sickle cell patients go through, rid society of any stigma surrounding the condition and share the success stories so that those suffering from it know how best to manage it properly and not lose hope.”
So far he has held fundraising events at art galleries, staged blood donation drives and formed a team, featuring seven different nationalities, to run in the Bahrain Road Runners full marathon at the beginning of February. His five-year-old son, Abdullah, even ran the Colour Me Bahrain Run in Amwaj Islands to lend support to dad’s initiative. And, Mohammed will be stepping out for the cause once more at the Nando’s Al Areen 10km Race at the Al Areen Wildlife Park on Friday.
Manahil Mansoor, a 32-year-old engineer and sickle cell patient from A’ali, has been helping to coordinate the charity champion’s efforts.
She said: “We sickle cell patients suffer from challenges at work, in education and in life. Unfortunately, people see us as sick individuals that constantly go to hospital. This campaign is a great idea. Mohammed is representing 18,000 Bahrainis suffering from sickle cell and we are grateful to him for shedding light on our situation.”
Manahil is one of the success stories. Despite facing discrimination at times she proved the doubters wrong by completing her masters at university and is currently working on getting a PHD in photogrammetric surveying.
She also came up with the C-shaped hand gesture to represent the campaign and sickle cell in images, which all members on the top table at the mini-marathon press conference at Jawad Dome last week performed in readiness for the coming challenge. The ‘C’ may look back-to-front in photographs but Manahil finds it too painful to make the shape with her right hand.
Present were Jawad Business Group Food Retail Division general manager Jawad Mahmood Jawad, Northern Governorate PR & media head Malik Al Ghassra, event director Adnan Al Qassab and the society’s chairman Zakareya Al Kadhem with Mohammed close by in the audience, although he was later shepherded on stage during the photograph session.
The Jawad Mini Marathon, being held under the patronage of the Governor of Northern Governorate Ali Al Shaikh Abdul Hussein Al Asfoor, will include a 3km walkathon open to all ages and families are urged to join in the fun.
There will be a 5km run open to children, from the age of nine, and for both men and women, with prizes for various age categories. Adults can also enter an extended 8km course, including disabled participants using wheelchairs. The race action starts at 8.50am.
During the event, there will be a raffle draw giving runners a chance to win a host of prizes.
The American Mission Hospital medical team will be present on the day to offer support if needed and traffic officers will be on duty to ensure the safety of participants on the course which runs down Budaiya Highway.
Mohammed added: “This will be a great addition to my current campaign #Run4SickleCell.”
Supporters have been taking images with the C symbol and hash-tagging Run4SickleCell across social media to further spread awareness with the hope of eventually transferring the photographs captured into a published book.
* Join Mohammed, GulfWeekly editor Stan Szecowka and sales manager Camille Jones in the Jawad Mini Marathon on Friday, March 4 by registering online on www.jawadminimarathon.com before March 2. Entry fees are only BD2 for adults and BD1 for children under 16 with all money raised going to the charity.
