Tuesday, Jul 23, 2013
Abu Dhabi: Helping others is what the UAE does. The world’s 16th largest foreign aid donor last year, the UAE will launched a host of philanthropic initiatives to remember its founding father Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan.
Ramadan 19 named “Emirati Humanitarian Work Day”, is annual event in memory of Shaikh Zayed and aims to inculcate the spirit of giving and philanthropy, said Mohammad Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs.
The 19th day of this Ramadan will be the ninth death anniversary of Shaikh Zayed - a world-renowned philanthropist - who passed away on November 2, 2004. In the run-up to the day several initiatives will be announced and there are already several projects under way.
To mark the day, the UAE has launched the “Egypt in Our Heart” campaign, which will contribute to infrastructure development in Egypt, upon directives of the President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
The campaign is supported by the Emirates Red Crescent and the Egyptian Red Crescent Society and aims to help Egyptian youth start their own business by granting them small loans and training them to secure well-paid jobs.
In another initiative, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, ordered the increase of beneficiaries of the “Dress a Million Children” campaign as it has already reached the target of clothing one million underprivileged children around the world. The campaign is scheduled to end on 19 Ramadan to coincide with Emirati Humanitarian Work Day.
Since 2011, the Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation’s initiative has helped more than 260,000 displaced Syrian families, including about 135,000 in Lebanon.
Noor Dubai Foundation, an NGO launched by Shaikh Mohammad to combat blindness and visual disability, has started its free screening programme to mark the humanitarian work day.
By Samir Salama Associate Editor
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
