Doha-Qatar 18 January 2015: This was awarded to H H in recognition for his social, humanitarian and charitable achievements around the world.

H H Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani added another attainment to his long list of exceptional undertakings by receiving the 2014 Dentons Award for social impact. This was awarded to H H in recognition for his accomplishments, contributions and well-known global projects in social, humanitarian and charitable services.

Mr. Matthew Jones, Global Executive Director of Dentons Law Firms, handed the award to H H in a special ceremony held at Ezdan Hotel. Among the attendees were the President and Executive Board of Directors of Dentons Law Firm Middle East (their first office globally), a number of senior executives, employees and administrators working for H H's various social and business organizations, in addition to media professionals and supporters.

H H Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah expressed his extreme happiness on that occasion, especially that the award is from a globally-renowned organization; H H said:

"I am glad and honoured to receive this award, knowing that our humanitarian and social efforts have been recognized by a world-renowned organization. This means that we have succeeded by God's grace to serve the poor, the destitute and needy not only locally and regionally but also globally."

H H sees that this award and recognition reflects the humanitarian and social perspective that people should follow regardless of their race or social status. This also coincides with the wise directives of the Qatari leadership who is always advising local businessmen to contribute towards the world community.

Mr. Matthew Jones, Global Director of Dentons Legal Firms, also expressed that H H Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani is not like any other Qatari businessman but rather a generous human being recognized by his humanitarian and charitable global contributions that were evaluated by a special Dentons' committee to finally conclude that it is well deserving to receive the "Dentons' Social Impact Award for 2014". This is an unrecorded prize by Dentons to H H for his exceptional social and humanitarian worldwide achievements, which are echoing across the globe.

The CEO of Dentons Middle East, Mr. Safwan Mubayyidin said: "This international award from Dentons demonstrates the impact of H H's social and humanitarian projects for the welfare of the global community. Especially that H H's humanitarian organizations have no geographical boundaries in order to reach out and feed the hungry, give to the poor and generally extend a hand to those in need regardless of their affiliation and background."

Mr. Moubaydeen, said that Denton, world's most prestigious law firm, is 225 year old, and has offices in more than 80 countries, and employs lawyers from various nationalities, among its clients are governments international and global corporation, decision makers and dignitaries.

The extreme generosity of H H Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani was extended to start these non-profit organizations to help the needy and destitute locally, regionally and globally, and is considered the largest non-profit charitable organization in Qatar.

H H Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah's Foundation for Humanitarian Services (RAF)

H H Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah is a major supporter of humanitarian and charitable activities. He established the Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah foundation for humanitarian services under the slogan, "human mercy is a virtue".

RAF provides charitable activities that go beyond Qatar as it helps the needy all over the world. These services include financial support for needy Qatari and non-Qatari families alike; in addition to educational support and food contributions. It also includes financial support for projects related to education, health, orphanages, and charitable organizations helping persons with special needs.

The charitable activities of H H Sheikh Thani have been extended to cover many countries worldwide.

Those international charitable activities are numerous and diverse, such as establishing a university in Kenya, building houses for those afflicted by earthquakes and other natural disasters, funding medical surgeries for the poor worldwide, and many other various charitable activities.

H H Sheikh Thani is greatly participated in the social rehabilitation of people afflicted with this long lasting civil war in Sri Lanka. Therefore, RAF built orphanages to home 2000 orphans, and supported many school projects and educational programs in this war-inflicted country.

In Syria, RAF worked on executing donation programs to support families who suffered from the unfortunate incidents that took place in the last few years through enabling Syrians to remain in their homeland. Therefore, RAF consistently sent relief convoys to the Syrian- Turkish borders to provide food and medical care to needy Syrians.

Moreover, His Highness gave orders to build many bakeries, mills, and villages. He also intends to build a housing village for displaced people. Each village costs 3 Million Qatari Riyals; it includes a school, a central laundry, and a water well, as well as separate bathing facilities for both men and women.

There is a future plan to implement 40 projects inside these villages in different fields, including agriculture, industry, livestock, bakeries, sewing workshops, and charity centres. This will be done through community development by supplying all the basic means of survival to the local population in order to become self-sufficient.

Speaking about Africa, H H Sheikh Thani recently launched a campaign to collect money for the afflicted who suffered the woes of war and conflicts in central Africa, with special aid to the Chadian Republic.

Coming to Asia, RAF is building orphanages in India that cost around 2.79 Million Qatari Riyals. 

The Qatari Association for Rehabilitation of Persons with Special Needs

H H Sheikh Thani is the board chairman of The Qatari Association for Rehabilitation of Persons with Special Needs, founded in 1992 as a non-profit charitable organization.

The organization started its work and activities in the same year.

The goal of this association is to provide social, medical, and psychological care for people with special needs through its specialized centres for the sake of preparing them professionally, educationally, psychologically, and socially.

The association has a lot of activities for both men and women, provided through these centres that are run by a team of professionals, experts and specialists.

This is in accordance with the policy of the association to spread comprehensive awareness among individuals with special needs.

The social and cultural centres release a periodic magazine entitled, Al Hayah, which covers issues related to disability and other interesting matters related to persons with special needs, including physical rehabilitation, social, medical, and psychological topics.

The magazine is distributed for free to miniseries, governmental agencies, national organizations, and foreign centres.

Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani foundation for Integrated Projects (A private institution with public benefit)

H H Sheikh Thani is the founder of Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah Al Thani Foundation to support integrated projects. It is a private institution with public benefit to serve those with limited income by improving their lifestyle regardless of their religion, race, or gender. It also offers financial help and other forms of support; in addition to providing all other needed facilities for the sake of enabling them to build a stable promising future.

Recently H H Sheikh Thani donated 100 Million Qatari Riyals through this organization to support those who have valuable and creative ideas for trade projects in poor countries.

The Association of Friends of Mental Health (Wayyak)

H H Sheikh Thani sponsored a campaign under the motto, wayyak (meaning "together"), to launch the Association of Friends of Mental Health, which is a charitable organization that aims at educating the society about the importance of mental health through various programs and activities, which are directed firsthand to the youth. One of its goals also is to provide a better psychological care by spreading awareness.

The 12 Billion Qatari Riyals (Waqf)

H H Sheikh Thani bin Abdullah announced his endorsement of 605,066,037 shares in charitable contributions to needy people around the globe through his allocation from Ezdan Establishment.

His Highness has established this humanitarian initiative inside the Qatari society by providing a stable income that runs under one of the biggest real estate establishments in Qatar and in the region. H H expressed his happiness about this achievement, which will definitely serve people globally, especially the poor and the needy.

RAF International University in Nairobi, Kenya

The first batch of graduates was in June 2014, 34 students completed their graduation. The university includes 11 faculties, among which are Medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture, media, Languages and Translation, Arts, Education and Human Sciences, technological sciences, and four Institutes which are: Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Institute for Quality and food industries, Institute of Nursing, institutes of technology and information systems, and the Institute of Administrative Sciences.

The capacity of the University will be up to 10 thousand students in 2018, when all the facilities and buildings of the university will be fully completed.

For more information, please contact:
Ahmad Abdallah
Public Relations & Media Dept. Director
Tel.: +974 44 094 271
Mobile: +974 55 851 180
E-mail:  ahmad.abdallah@sak-holding.com

© Press Release 2015