Two major projects aimed at empowering Bahraini women and their families were launched yesterday (September 5) by a local youth group.

The first focuses on raising awareness about common female cancers and the second on helping productive families develop their businesses. The initiatives are spearheaded by AIESEC Bahrain and sponsored by HSBC.

The Women Cancer Awareness project aims at raising awareness about ovarian, uterine and breast cancer.

The project consists of an online campaign, awareness workshops and a three-day awareness event, which includes a walkathon and a charity bazaar.

Five AIESEC members from Poland, China, Germany and Egypt have come to Bahrain for two months to help roll out the project and engage in cultural exchange.

Bahrain Cancer Society is supporting the initiative by providing information about all three types of cancer and offering support to patients. Sakana is sponsoring the workshops.

The project includes five public awareness seminars to be held over the next two months and an awareness event from October 6 to 8.

Timings and venues will be announced soon.

"Seminars will be held every Saturday about cancer, nutrition, coping with cancer and so on," AIESEC project manager Marwa Al Alawi told at a Press conference held at the Elite Grande Hotel, Seef.

"During the three-day awareness event we will have activities to engage the society, including a walkathon, educational booth and charity bazaar."

Bahrain Cancer Society board member Dr Ahmed Shahda said it saluted AIESEC's initiatives to raise awareness and as a supporting partner of the project was providing information about cancer in women.

"In 1989 the society was formed with the aim of improving the healthcare outcome of cancer patients," he said.

"At that time there was little understanding about cancer and to most people it meant death. Through our activities and screening initiative, the society was able to change the stigma of cancer from death to a disease that can be cured and lived with.”

Dr Shahda praised AIESEC's initiative for productive families because many families that deal with cancer often suffer financially and turning to home-based incomes was an answer.

"A lot of families are forced to leave their jobs to look after their sick relative so having a home-based job will help," he said.

Meanwhile, the Empowering Bahraini Productive Families project will give 10 Bahraini productive families the opportunity to develop and expand their home businesses.

AIESEC and HSBC will work with each family to give them the skills needed to enter the virtual online market to promote their products globally, said AIESEC Bahrain projects vice-president Shahad Alzaki.

"We chose this project because we noticed an increase in productive families, but still they aren't really known. We are selecting 10 families and we will hold a workshop for them in their houses," she said.

"The interns will go to them and help them with their products and create a website for them, there will also be a public workshop."

In addition to helping 10 families, the AIESEC will invite other productive families and small home business owners to attend two public workshops where they can learn how to reach new markets.

"A lot of small business owners in Bahrain are using online marketing and we want to help them set up their own websites," said project manager Ahmed Khonji.

AIESEC Bahrain president Sara Hussain and other AIESEC members as well as project sponsors attended the Press conference.

AIESEC is the world's largest student-based organisation based in more than 110 countries.

It provides its 60,000 members from more than 1,600 universities and educational institutions with the opportunity to be part of more than 470 global and national forums and more than 10,000 global internship opportunities with leading organisations from the corporate, development, student and education sector. – TradeArabia News Service