The Fanny Umaña Memorial Fund

Fanny Umaña was a Costa Rican BA and technological specialist. On October 5th, she was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of cancer, a uterine sarcoma, which progressed rapidly and took her life one month later, on November 6th, 2021.

 

On the days following her death, during the wake, funeral and services, many people paid their respects. Among those, and unbeknownst to her family and loved ones, were several people she had helped, financially and otherwise. Many came forth and spoke of how generous and kind she had been with them, how she was always ready to lend a hand. She never asked for any credit and had always insisted on discretion and anonymity. Investigating further, through her email account and documents, her family found that aside from helping people directly and volunteering her time, she was also a regular contributor to several associations and funds, some of which helped stray animals, wildlife, at-risk children, and poor families. One of her causes was a nuclear-weapons-free world. She was a regular donor to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and a regular supporter of IPPNW in Costa Rica.

 

She believed in social justice and was always willing to lend a hand to those less fortunate than she. She was an advocate for protecting life, for compassion as a way of life, and lived this consistently as a vegan activist and environmentalist. She inspired many of us to be better versions of ourselves.

 

She was quick to welcome people into her life, and also quick to forget grievances. She believed in community, togetherness, in achieving world peace through cultivating generosity, kindness, humility and inner peace. In her own words: “spiritual, physical and emotional peace are the only weapons one needs to fight any battle”.

 

To honor her intentions, her way of life, and her legacy, the family has asked IPPNW to assist in establishing The Fanny Umaña Memorial Fund as a qualified charitable endeavor. Contributions in Fanny’s memory will support her vision of a world that solves its conflicts through empathy, kindness and understanding, a world where nuclear weapons have no reason for being.