Thursday March 28th, 2024
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The Bag by Sara Gives 100% of Proceeds to Cancer and Burn Patients

The Bag by Sara is a one-woman operation with a singular goal in mind: to raise money to help out underpriveleged cancer and burn patients in Egypt.

Staff Writer

The Bag by Sara Gives 100% of Proceeds to Cancer and Burn Patients

The story started in 2017, when Sara Khalil was going through an immensely difficult struggle in her life. She met a woman undergoing chemotherapy who couldn’t afford Herceptin, a particularly expensive premed. Determined to help underprivileged cancer patients and burn victims, Khalil looked at her options and reached a decision that Ramadan season — to launch a business that would give 100% of its proceeds to people in need.


The Bag by Sara is a brand designed and crafted entirely by Khalil. As such, her collections are typically limited to 30 releases at a time. “I do it so passionately that I even work when I’m absolutely floored, but it’s just me," Khalil tells #CairoScene. "I donate all the proceeds so I’m not making a profit, which means I can’t afford to expand into a team. But the support I receive from my customers is amazing."


As an interior designer, it wasn't a simple matter to jump straight into the bag business. Since she started training under an artisan, she’s gained more experience and courage, releasing lush suede designs and gorgeous crocodile handbags. And while Khalil welcomes her growth in craftsmanship, it's all to serve a greater cause. To this day, she donates all of her profits through Ahl Masr, 57357, and Baheya Foundation. When it comes to Baheya, she specifically looks at a particular chemotherapy stream; while most of the medical treatments at Baheya are free, this one is not. Herceptin, which is given to patients who are HER2 positive, costs EGP28,000 per each session, with most patients going through 18 sessions in total. That comes out to over half a million pounds.


The brand also donates to individual cases that Khalil comes across. One of these cases is a young boy in rural Egypt, who is a burn victim living with his grandmother after his mother passed away and his father abandoned him.


You can shop The Bag by Sara’s designs through the brand’s DMs.