MANAMA — "Smile" Initiative, an initiative of Bahrain Future Society for Youth, which provides psychosocial support to children with cancer and their parents in Bahrain, announced the launch of the 7th edition of its awareness campaign "Our Children as Gold" in order to expand awareness of childhood cancer in various segments of society.

The Future Society for Youth Chairman Sabah Abdul Rahman Al Zayani affirmed the Society’s eagerness to launch the campaign this year despite the challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic. He said that this reflects the commitment of “Smile” initiative to support children with cancer in various circumstances.

"We will build on the outstanding success achieved during the previous years with the participation of hundreds of children, dozens of volunteers, and many private governmental institutions and companies in the campaign activities.

“We will provide all partners and supporters with suitable channels to participate in the campaign. This confirms the commitment of the Bahraini community to support the cause of children with cancer which is celebrated worldwide in September every year,” Al Zayani said.

The Chairman of the Society revealed that "Our Children as Gold 7" campaign will include a generous program of activities, events, and innovative programs that will last for a whole month. He said that the Society is currently working collaboratively with many individuals and teams to place the final touches on the campaign program, in line with the aspirations of the participants, partners, and the Bahraini community.

"This year, the campaign will mainly depend on producing media content like videos, pictures, and infographics to spread awareness about childhood cancer. Meetings with sick children and their families, doctors, and specialists will also be recorded to give information about the disease, and upload all this through online communication apps, and Social Media,” he added.

Al Zayani explained that the campaign program this year additionally includes the design, production, and distribution of about 10,000 pieces of golden ribbon that symbolizes childhood cancer, and will be available through a specialized website in exchange for a symbolic amount of money that will be forwarded to sick children.

Interested institutions, companies, and people can order this ribbon through the Society so that they could wear it as an expression of their noble human sense and their support for children with cancer.

He said that those in charge of the "Smile" initiative would encourage companies and institutions and provide them guidance to organize internal events co-occurring with the "Our Children as Gold 7" campaign, which would reflect their keenness to advance their social responsibility.

Al Zayani added that "A big surprise at the end of the campaign awaits children with cancer, their families, participants in the campaign and the Bahraini public," noting that the details of this surprise will be announced later.

“We urge everyone to follow the Smile initiative account on Instagram to know the activities' updates of "Our Children as Gold 7" campaign. I hope that everyone will actively participate in this campaign to promote its efforts to enhance awareness in various segments of Bahraini society about childhood cancer.

“We have worked during the past 6 campaigns of (Our Children as Gold) with diverse parties, and we gained all the support and recognition from them, and we believe that the Bahraini society is fully aware now of the significance of supporting children with cancer, so we are extremely optimistic about the success of this 7th edition despite the challenges," he said.

In addition to the campaign's primary goal of raising awareness, the campaign also aims to achieve other goals, including improving the psychological and social support services provided to children with cancer and their families and providing a greater opportunity for the children to participate in a broad range of sports, social, cultural and entertaining activities, and to provide a permanent platform for the parents of sick children to meet and know each other, in a way that relieves them of the psychological burden. — SG