Humayra The Brave

A LITTLE girl’s courage in the face of a big disease.

- Vanessa Papas

SOMETIMES superheroes live in the hearts of little children fighting big battles. Humayra Bhodania is one such child. Six-year-old Humayra is living with a rare disease called pulmonary hypertension (PH) – the same disease that robbed her then eight-year-old brother Mohammed of his life in 2013. Humayra’s dream was to be featured in a music video, and artist Zain Bhikha – who is Humayra’s uncle – made it possible by writing a song for her and helping raise awareness about this very misunderstood, relatively rare and often fatal disease. Humayra was diagnosed with PH when she was three. Recalling her daughter’s diagnosis and her son’s tragic death, Humayra’s mom, Shaakira Bhodania, says far more awareness is needed, both in South Africa and across the world, about this disease in the hopes of saving Humayra’s life, and the lives of countless others suffering from PH.