ABU DHABI // Sylvia Hari’s only hope for her eldest daughter’s survival is financial donations from charities and members of the public.
Mrs Hari, 52, from Sri Lanka, has been raising her two daughters for the past two decades without support from her estranged husband.
Her eldest daughter, Nikita, 28, was born with an incomplete bladder, which later led to kidney failure. Mrs Hari takes her to dialysis treatment three times a week.
However, she can no longer afford the cost of the procedure that keeps Nikita alive.
“Nikita’s dialysis costs Dh12,000 a month and insurance companies have refused to cover it because they said it’s a birth defect,” Mrs Hari said.
She said most charities also could not help because she was Catholic, not Muslim.
“I’ve asked for help from the church and they gave me Dh5,000. But they said that they couldn’t help me again,” said Mrs Hari, an administrative supervisor at a nursery with a monthly wage of Dh8,000.
“I couldn’t afford my daughter’s dialysis so I used to pay Dh4,000 per month. The rest was for rent, utilities and the girls’ education.”
Since she has been unable to pay the entire amount, Mrs Hari now has an outstanding bill of Dh183,000.
“The hospital called me two weeks ago and said they would stop Nikita’s dialysis unless I paid the entire bill,” she said.
Without dialysis treatment, Nikita’s life is at risk.
“When she misses a single dialysis session, her body swells up and she is in excruciating pain,” said Mrs Hari.
“It’s so hard for me as a mother to see her go through the agony of dialysis, but this is even worse – to see my daughter’s life at risk and not being able to do anything.
“I don’t want to even think what will happen to her if I can’t raise the money. I have asked everyone for help and because charity organisations can’t help me I am asking individuals and calling radio stations.”
Mrs Hari said she would continue to send her daughter to dialysis treatment, but the hospital has warned that it would no longer admit her and would press legal charges.
“Oh God, I can’t even think or imagine what will happen,” she said, as tears rolled down her face.
Hisham Al Zahrani, manager of zakat and social services at Dar Al Ber Society, said: "Nikita is in desperate need of continued support and since she has approached other charities, the readers of The National and the community, who always extend a helping hand to those in need, are her only hope."
• To help, call the hotline at 0502955999, or send a WhatsApp message to the same number. Donations can be made by depositing money in Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank account, Iban number AE9805 000 000 000 11530734 or Dubai Islamic Bank account, Iban number AE8002 4000 352 0443 1952 01.
salnuwais@thenational.ae