Tarik Batal and Basma Masri are the Creators of Superhope, an engaging and impactful initiative which aims at building relationships with globally recognized hospitals and superhero children. By boosting a child’s Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) they make that child believe they are a Superhero, which enables a more positive mind-body connection.

The Power of a Positive Mental Attitude

“During a meeting with a friend who was a child psychologist, Basma and I discovered how important it was to help boost the positive mental attitude of a child battling cancer. It was that which led us to a creative session where we thought, what better way to boost a child’s Positive Mental Attitude (PMA) than to make that child believe they are a Superhero and so that was how the idea of Superhope was born.”

The Scientific Basis

“PMA stands for Positive Mental Attitude, and it refers to the person’s state of mind. We now have enough evidence globally that proves how the mind and body are integrated, what the mind
believes, the body perceives. In other words, a healthy mind promotes a healthy body. It is not unfamiliar to feel down when you are ill, let alone be ill with something quite as serious as cancer. This is where Superhope comes to play; our method helps reverse the mental impact cancer can have on a child by empowering them into believing they are a Superhero, and not just any Superhero, but their own.”

Creating the Superhero

“We do this by starting with one question, ‘If you were a Superhero, how would you imagine yourself?’ Our talents then help materialize their ideas into actual characters by first working with the children to illustrate their beings, to then designing every detail of their super suits, and finally the work in the background to turn their visions into reality by hand-making their slick threads. After which we create their out-of-thisworld professional photo shoot where they get to become their alter-egos. So far, Superhope has worked with hospitals in Dubai, San Francisco, Orange County, and London with many more in the pipeline.”

The Powerful Impact

“When reminding a child with cancer that he/she has the power to level up from an ill state to a super state, their behavior shifts from a feeling of helplessness to a feeling of power. When the mind can shift its thought process to that level of thinking, the body will react and both the chemicals in the brain and the energy in the body all become aligned to one purpose to become what we believe. To believe you are greater than what is trying to fight you is the first step to defeating the disease and we truly believe that this can cause super effects in fighting something as strong as cancer.”