Carol Fauni from the Philippines as well as Lucy Alex from India rose among more than 20,000 participants and from the final 10 to be hailed as the first-ever winners of the recently-concluded Joyalukkas Angel Awards 2019 held at the Taj Dubai last August 2.
The winners received the award from Sonia Alukkas, Director of the Joyalukkas Group. and received a cash prize of One Lakh Indian Rupees and One Hundred Thousand Pesos from Anjali Menon, Head of Marketing at Wall Street Exchange.
Conquering Cancer
As one of the nurses serving the Medical Village in Jumeirah, Fauni was shocked when she was informed that she was on the early stages of Colon Cancer. Her life flashed before her eyes as she got lost in thoughts of her loved ones. “When I was outside the hospital, I cried thinking how many years, how many days, how many months – and I’m always thinking of my daughters, my family,” shared Fauni.
Carol’s husband, Joel was on the verge of tears as shared that he still remembers the very day when he saw his wife in the operating room: “It took six, eight hours… we were in the room waiting for her, only to find out that she needs to stay in the emergency room for recovery and all. When I came to the recovery room and saw her, the doctor told me that she was in an induced coma so I was like – in one day she was bubbly and then I could see her like motionless with all the tubes.”
Alfie Aquino – who nominated Fauni for the awards, admired the Caviteña nurse for her persistence and drive to serve her patients, not because it was her duty, but because of her passion to help them heal. “Three years, she had colon cancer and she was still working,” shares Aquino.
Today, Fauni continues to serve fellow Filipinos and expats of other nationalities as she’s given a second chance in life.
Highlighting nurses’ noble deeds
“The response from general public, sponsors and media was overwhelming as they stood by this noble deed. I am thankful to each one of you for supporting wholeheartedly”, says Juby Kuruvilla, Managing Director, Equity Plus Advertising, Dubai, the creator of the award.
“Joyalukkas decided to support Angel Awards, in the very first discussion itself, because of its cause and motto. Angel Awards is novel, first in the UAE and something that touches each of us” says Jibin Toms, Head of Marketing, Joyalukkas International Operations
“It gives us immense pleasure in being able to touch the lives of some very deserving individuals through the Angel Awards. Wall Street Exchange has always looked out for ways, through which we could better the lives of not just our customers but also other deserving individuals in the region We are very happy to give away this cheque of One Lakh INR and 1,00,000 Peso to the lucky Indian and Filipino Angels respectively,” says Anjali Menon, Head of Marketing, Wall Street Exchange and Instant Cash Global Money Transfer”.
The nominators of the title winners also received a full set of Kitchen appliances from Nikai Electronics and Home appliances.
