The Special Olympics family has lost the efforts, support and enthusiasm of Princess , president of the Fédération Royale Marocaine des Sports Equestres and honorary chairwoman of Morocco's Special Olympics, who passed away last week at age 58 Princess , aunt of King Mohamed VI and daughter of former King Mohamed V, passed away after being ill for several months, a communiqué from the Ministry of the Royal Household Protocol and Chancellery said, Abeer Anwar reports. , who was an active member of the SO MENA Advisory Council, was born in Madagascar on 8 April 1954 while the royal family was in exile. She is the daughter of Mohamed V and his third wife, Lalla Bahia. is the sister of Hassan II and King Mohamed VI's aunt. The funeral took place in the presence of King Mohamed VI, Prince Moulay Rachid and several other members of the royal family. The remains were buried in the Moulay Al Hassan Mausoleum at the Royal Palace in Rabat. Princess was a staunch supporter of sports for the disabled for many years. She helped establish Special Olympics in Morocco in 1995 and has been an enthusiastic force for the movement ever since. A sportswoman herself, Princess was chairwoman of the Royal Moroccan Equestrian Federation. An emblematic figure in Moroccan equestrian sports and president of the federation since 1999, Princess was a devoted and accomplished equestrian. She was also a member of the Special Olympics international board of directors. She was a true champion for people with intellectual disabilities in Morocco, providing leadership aimed at building more acceptance and inclusion for the athletes of Special Olympics. Her nephew, King Mohamed VI, has also been a Special Olympics supporter and served as host of the 2010 Global Congress in Marrakech. An SO Morocco athlete, El-Araby Houfeya, described . "She was very gracious. She told me about Special Olympics Morocco. I joined and now I don't want to remember how it was before," Houfeya says with great emotion. "I became a champion. I saw her Royal Highness Princess Lala Amina a lot. One day I thought 'I play sports very well; nobody thought I could. Perhaps then, there are other things I could do'". Also president of the Moroccan league for Child Protection, Princess was a strong advocate for children's rights throughout her life and worked tirelessly on national legislation and the harmonisation with international laws and conventions. She was a member of the honorary committee of the global movement of mothers, honorary president of the Hadaf Association for the protection of disabled persons and also chaired the Moroccan Association for promoting arts for the disabled. "Princess was a wonderfully generous person who always put the needs of others first," Princess Haya of Morocco said. "She has had a profound impact on the lives of so many young people and her dedication and lifelong work will continue to provide those in need with a better framework to help them in times of trouble." " was an example and a mentor to me personally, and to every young woman in our region who loves children," Ayman Abdel-Wahab, Egypt's SO president and regional director of the Middle East and North Africa region, said. "No one person has done more for SO Morocco and its development in Africa than she did. The vacuum she leaves will be impossible to fill, and we will all miss her terribly. Everyone who had the chance to know and work with her in the SO world is devastated by her passing. She was a truly remarkable woman." Princess was elected the first African sports leader in Special Olympics, the global movement that aims to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience joy and friendship. In 2004, Princess was awarded a Special Olympics international prize. She also received the Women and Sport Trophy awarded by the International Olympic Committee and was decorated in 2007 with a second division Wissam Al-Mohammadi by HM King Mohamed VI.
