Breast Cancer awareness: Pink Caravan gears up preparations

Abu Dhabi, March 15, 2012 (WAM) - Higher Organising Committee of the Pink Caravan campaign continues its preparatory meetings with various organising sub-committees to put the final touches on all details related to the second journey of the Pink Caravan's riders, scheduled next April. The Pink Caravan is an initiative launched by the Friends of Cancer Patients, during 2011, to commemorate the occasion of their 10th anniversary celebrations. Through this noble initiative, they are strongly campaigning towards bringing together an awareness of breast cancer in the country. According to Pink Caravan's logistic committee the 2nd ride will be larger in size, numbers and range as compared to the 2011 one. The Pink Caravan's daily 15 male and female riders and medical and awareness teams will visit the seven Emirates during their 10 days horseback journey, in addition to 5 riders from The Pink Caravan Ambassadors. The caravan aims to reach the remote and most populated areas alike. The logistic and equestrian committees have finalised mapping the path of the caravan. They checked the designed roads, stops and rests to ensure the track is safe and clear. They, also, obtained all the necessary approvals and permits from the concerned authorities to facilitate the movement of the caravan and avoid any traffic congestion, especially as the riders will have various stops and activities taking place in the main areas and roads in each Emirate. Speaking on the occasion, Ameera BinKaram, Founding member of Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP) and President of the Board of Trustees, said: "Preparations of the sub-committees are progressing well and enthusiasm is rising as countdown continues for the start of the ride. We have made several changes on the caravan track to make it be more visible for people in all the Emirates. We, also, brought the latest mobile medical equipment and increased the number of medical and awareness teams and clinics to cover 5 centres at the same time in order to provide the service to additional number of female and male applicants for breast cancer screening". BinKaram lauded the great support given to the campaign by all individuals, government and private organisations which were keen to make the second round of the caravan a success. On the other hand, the Pink Caravan's logistic committee is providing all the requirements to riders, volunteers and medical and awareness teams and ensuring the caravan's movement is safe and clear. The medical and awareness committee has completed training for its medical teams and finalised the schedule of mobile clinics in each Emirate. The committee will work on 5 separate clinics daily over a period of 17 days to make the breast cancer early detection screening accessible to over 5000 applicants. The medical and awareness committee will provide high tech screening equipment to reach more accurate and effective results. Pink Caravan gears up to start its second horseback journey in the first half of next April. The 10 day ride will travel across all parts of the UAE to spread awareness on the importance of early detection of breast cancer and raise funds to buy mobile clinic equipped with modern technologies that will be able to reach remote areas to conduct the mammogram tests. Pink Caravan campaign will run annually until 2014, under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah and under the directives of H.H. Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs and Honorary President of the FOCP. - Emirates News Agency, WAM