A six-year-old Toronto girl who hopes to help find a cure for a genetic disorder affecting her older brother has now raised more than $90,000.
Na’ama Uzan’s fundraising started when she was four years old with a lemonade stand that eventually brought in more than $25,000 for the Foundation for Angelman Syndrome Therapeutics (FAST).
On Monday, Na’ama and several other local families affected by Angelman Disorder held a fundraiser called Skate for a Cure at a Toronto arena.
“It went really well,” Na’ama told CTV News Channel afterward. “I thought we’d raise $100 but we raised $5,000.”
Na’ama said her goal is to see her brother Nadav “skate, talk and be able to do lots of stuff.”
Ru Uzan, her mother, said that FAST has hired a post-doctoral researcher with the money Na’ama raised previously, and that she believes a cure may be close.
“There’s somebody working everyday knowing that a little girl is standing on the corner calling out for lemonade and that is paying her salary,” Ru Uzan told CTV News Channel.
She said that Angelman Syndrome causes developmental delays, difficulty speaking and walking, and severe epilepsy. It affects approximately one in 15,000 Canadians.
