Dubai: Al Maktoum Foundation (AMF) will spend half of its annual Dh100 million budget on charity projects this Ramadan, said Mirza Hussain Al Sayegh, AMF Board Member.
AMF is a charity organisation established in 1997 by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Minister of Finance, with the aim of supporting humanitarian and charity work across the world.
The charity organisation, which focuses on humanitarian and educational work, has reached out to 45 countries and spent a total of Dh1.18 billion in 2011 on different projects. These include building schools, providing access to higher education, building mosques and extending help to different countries in times of crises such as earthquakes and floods.
This year, Al Sayegh said Dh50 million will be spent during Ramadan towards funding iftars, charity organisations and supporting orphans, to name a few.
“The majority of the amount, around Dh29.4 million, will go to Beit Al Khair Society to fund 11 different projects that include funding iftar, supporting orphans and people with special needs.”
Al Sayegh said Beit Al Khair Society was among the most effective charity organisations in the country, especially when it comes to using its funds efficiently.
He also said around Dh11 million will go towards supporting other charity organisations, while around Dh3 million will be used to fund iftars in countries such as Iraq, Sudan and Holland and Dh5.9 million will be allocated for support and fund universities.
AMF established a fast breaking and donation programme that covers all seven continents in 1997. A total of Dh472 million was spent from 1997 to 2011 for this purpose.
The majority of AMF’s projects take place abroad. Al Sayegh said among the latest projects the foundation is working on is establishing a school in Jordan for disabled children.
“During my visits to one of our hospitals in Jordan I found that children who suffer from different disabilities have to take time out from schools to get the treatment they need.”
Al Sayegh said Shaikh Hamdan approved a project to build a school right next to the hospital with specialist teachers so that they can continue their treatment and focus on their education at the same time.
Another project that the foundation is working on is establishing a school in Ethiopia.
Al Sayegh praised Shaikh Hamdan for thinking about the needs of people from all walks of life and initiating a project to support Emirati female university students who come from poor families.
“Some Emirati female students come from poor families. In order to help them feel confident among their peers, Shaikh Hamdan suggested allocating a monthly fund to spend on their personal needs such as clothing.”
Around 70 girls who come from poor families are allocated Dh700 a month to support them and help them feel confident.
AMF was first established in Ireland in 1997. In January of 2000, AMF moved to its new headquarters in Dubai. AMF has established different Islamic centres in Europe that include the Islamic Centre of Rotterdam in Holland and Al Maktoum College for Arabic and Islamic studies in Scotland. It also established 40 schools in Africa and other European countries and even partnered with universities to allow students who graduated from these schools to pursue their higher education.
