Letters

The winner of the This Way Baloo! launch competition was the ‘Min Pin Army’ represented by Hulk (and his mum Yazmin Alhilli). 

For the launch, anyone buying the new book was invited to write a postcard to him and post it in a prize draw box.  

The Bookcase kindly donated the book Underwater Dogs as the prize and Baloo was very excited to meet Hulk, who is one of his biggest fans. 

Sarah Clarke, Bahrain.

Editor’s note: The first book Where’s Baloo? written by Sarah and illustrated by Sunanda Docherty sold more than 1,000 copies to date raising BD4,000 for the RIA Centre for Children with Special Needs. It is still available from The Bookcase or direct from Sarah Clarke on 38338064, alongside the second in the series, This Way Baloo!

I would like to thank you for publishing the article on Zaina in last week’s issue of GulfWeekly. She is really a remarkable girl.

There are many incidences of people battling against debilitating conditions with their own will power. One such example is Stephen Hawkins, the world-renowned physicist, who was diagnosed with a disease known as motor neurone disease or Lou Gehrig’s disease.

His book, A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes is a popular-science book on cosmology and has helped the layman to better understand the subject.

His daughter Lucy says that he has the ability to summon all his reserves, all his energy, all his mental focus and press them all into the goal of simply keeping going. It appears that his sheer love of physics has helped him carry on.

Zaina has chosen music as her inspiration. Music has special qualities. It can cross linguistic and cultural barriers. It can touch the soul and lift the spirits. The support and encouragement given to her by her sister, parents, uncle and the family and friends is also commendable.

I am sure Zaina will succeed in whatever she sets her mind on despite her present situation.

Sidney Ponniah, by email.

For the sixth consecutive year, Al Jawhara Centre for Molecular Medicine, affiliate of the Arabian Gulf University (AGU), is launching a national awareness campaign for rare diseases in early February.

This will be in conjunction with World Rare Disease Day, which falls on February 28 annually, held this year under the slogan ‘Show your rare, show your care’.

This year’s celebration will focus on scientific research on rare diseases and its importance in opening limitless possibilities in treating patients, facilitating diagnosis and finding them treatment.

Diseases are classified as rare when they afflict one in every 2,000 people. There are 100 million individuals in the world afflicted with a rare disease and nearly 15 million in the Arab world. Most rare diseases are genetic, and accompany the patient for life, although the effects of some may only manifest at an older age.

The campaign will launch at Seef Mall Muharraq on February 10 with an awareness exhibition that includes the distribution of souvenirs and awareness leaflets, in addition to a big celebration at the City Centre Bahrain Mall on February 23.

The events at AGU and Al Jawhara Centre will also include recreational competitions, direct answers and consultations for visitors, with the participation of AGU medical students.

In addition, an awareness seminar entitled ‘Genetic Diseases - Translating Research into Clinical Applications’ will be organised by Al Jawhara Centre targeting doctors and researchers in the field of genetics.

On February 28, a meeting will be held with patients of rare diseases in a special event to discuss the importance of early detection and what can be provided to patients with rare diseases, from diagnosis to aid in developing a better lifestyle to cope with the rare disease, aiming to share their experiences and provide support.

Dr Cristina Skrypnyk, medical genetics consultant at Al Jawhara Centre and head of the organising committee.

Editor’s note: For more information on this global campaign, visit https://www.rarediseaseday.org/