Safiyya Vorajee, founder of The Azaylia Foundation, visits Kids Planet Preston for their 'Wear Orange for Azaylia' day

Kids Planet Preston in Fulwood joined forces with Safiyya Vorajee yesterday (Thursday, June 29) as part of a charity campaign supporting the research and treatment of childhood cancer.

Who is Safiyya Vorajee?

Safiyya, who has 1 million followers on Instagram, is an internet personality, author and founder of The Azaylia Foundation, a children’s cancer charity.

She set up the charity with her ex-husband, footballer Ashley Cain, in 2021 after the couple tragically lost their daughter Azaylia Diamond Cain to Acute Myeloid Leukaemia at just eight months old.

Safiyya explained: “Azaylia fought really fiercelessly against childhood cancer, and we got so much support from the community to help us get the life saving treatment that she needed. The love that Azaylia received from the community was just so amazing that we knew we needed to give back, we needed to help these children that are fighting against childhood cancer.

"Childhood cancer is the biggest killer of children here in the UK, and it receives less than three per cent of funding. Azaylia and all the other children out there deserve more than that, and while the government are not funding childhood cancer, it's my purpose now as Azaylia’s mum, because of everything that my daughter went through, to really give back to the families and the children that suffer from infant cancer on a daily basis.”

Why was Safiyya in Preston?

Kids Planet Preston was one of 60 nurseries across the country taking part in ‘Wear Orange for Azaylia’ on Thursday, June 29.

The event is a nationwide non-uniform, ‘wear orange’ day in support of childhood cancer, and over 100 schools have already held their own version so far this year.

The colour orange was chosen as it represents leukaemia, with various famous landmarks, such as Niagra Falls, the London Eye and Blackpool Tower, even lighting up orange for Azaylia during her journey.

Explaining how the idea was inspired by her daughter, Safiyya said: “My daughter is my hero, she really gives me that strength to continue to get up. In my darkest time, after losing my daughter, I knew I needed to turn pain into purpose. Azaylia’s dad Ashley channels his grief through doing extreme activities, and raising awareness for the foundation in that way, so for me it was looking at where's my pain and how I can turn that into a purpose?

"For me, children are my biggest pain, and the second thing was, children need a message about being kind, brave and inclusive. Children that are fighting against cancer in hospital have to come back into schools, and when they do, they need an environment where children are mindful and caring. At the same time, children are coming into school from different walks of life so I wanted all children to feel included and I felt like if we plant the seed early, children can then better support other children.

“So ‘Wear Orange for Azaylia’ came from a really dark place but the pain has allowed me to create purpose in this world that I'm now living in, where I deal with trauma on a daily basis.”

What happened on the day?

Describing ‘Wear Orange’, Safiyya said: “It is a fun day where children can wear non uniform and have light brought into their lives, it's not coming into schools and talking about childhood cancer, it's talking about being brave, inclusive and supportive. At the same time, the teachers and the parents are getting that message around the statistics of childhood cancer so it's a dual purpose.”

Safiyya spent the day at Kids Planet Preston doing a variety of fun activities with the orange-clad youngsters – such as making sandcastles, playdough and masks – alongside promoting these messages, whilst there was also a fundraising cake sale and raffle.

For the schools that Safiyya could not visit on the day, Safiyya sent pre-recorded video which they could use in assemblies. The schools also held their own bake-sales, reflective sessions and fun activities, whilst the pupils who came in orange clothing all gave donations to The Azaylia Foundation.

How can you support The Azaylia Foundation?

As a school or nursery, you can hold your own ‘Wear Orange for Azaylia’ day, and Safiyya has put together a guidance pack on how to do so.

To find out more about The Azaylia Foundation, including how to donate, visit its website.

Safiyya added: “By clicking the link and donating towards The Azaylia Foundation that will help us create PhDs that we're now doing to advance new research and new talent that comes to the UK. We also donate to individual treatments, as well as donating to multiple things that we will be releasing shortly. But if anybody can take a look on the website, you will be helping towards that bigger movement – childhood cancer is the most underfunded out there and with everybody's help, we can make them statistics change.”