Pink Caravan riders and volunteers work over 200,000 hours

Hundreds of riders and volunteers from across the UAE, and of all nationalities, have been working tirelessly under the banner of the Pink Caravan Ride to promote breast cancer awareness.

Along with specialised nursing and medical staff, and administrative and supervisory committees, the volunteers travel from coast to coast of the UAE to help with early detection and provide free medical check-ups for the nation’s residents.

Since its inception in 2011, the Pink Caravan Ride has made massive strides across the seven emirates, offering free screenings, separating fact from fiction, and giving advice on minimising risks.

The Pink Caravan's volunteers and riders, its unsung heroes, have dedicated a total of 202,790 volunteer hours in serving the campaign’s efforts. Riders, doctors, nurses, administrative and support staff and many others have proved that the spirit of generosity and self-sacrifice knows no boundaries.

The Pink Caravan's medical teams at mobile clinics include 83 medical staff members, each of them working for more than 15 hours a day. That brings the total volunteer hours to 165 per person in 11 days, and 13,695 hours volunteered by the entire medical staff in the same period -- about 82,170 hours in the six years.

Volunteers’ work includes registering patients, organising medical examinations as well as participating in the ride and taking care of the horses. Locations for the mobile clinic must be arranged and advertised, medical services provided by the Pink Caravan must be publicised, and the technical and logistical support needed by teams accompanying the Pink Caravan must be provided.

Weekly meetings are held from September each year, involving at least 15 people, with each meeting taking between four and six hours. The total number of meetings take more than 150 hours each year, which brings the number of hours volunteered in these meetings to 900, and 13,500 in six years for its participants.

"These figures show that the Pink Caravan has not only promoted its core aim of raising breast cancer awareness and stressing the importance of early detection, it is also building a true culture of volunteering in its various forms in the UAE," said Reem BinKaram, Chairperson of the Higher Organising Committee of the Pink Caravan Ride.