Abu Dhabi: Thirteen students from Zayed University's Abu Dhabi campus, took it upon themselves to host a fund-raiser campaign which aims at building a new school for children with special needs in the capital.
The event, held on March 7, is part of the Donate a Brick campaign launched in May 2008 by Good Heart, the fund-raising arm of the Special Care Centre in Abu Dhabi, under the patronage of Shaikha Shamma Bint Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a student at Zayed University.
The faculty, staff and students, all took part in the activities and events that occurred on that day. To build a symbolic wall for their contribution to a good cause, the students were selling colour coded Styrofoam bricks for Dh20, 50 and 80 along with T-shirts and similar items.
The school will be located in Al Bahia on 22,447.59 square metres and is expected to be one of the biggest, equipped with the best facilities to deliver care for people with special needs.
"I want to contribute to this cause. Our goal is to raise Dh25m, and so far, we raised Dh9m through various events that took place in different schools," said Mahra Al Hameli, a first-year student.
"I want to involve different groups within the community and expand to Al Ain, Liwa, Bida'a Zayed. Today alone we made Dh29,000 and I am confident of more to come," said Shaikha Shamma.
When she was a high school student at Shaikh Zayed Academy, the Special Care Centre approached the school for assistance.
"I was deeply moved when I realised that the very first person, who actually donated money, was the janitor contributing as much as she could afford, Dh5," Shaikha Shamma told Gulf News.
"I talked to my dad who immediately supported this humanitarian cause and promised to donate Dh25m, which is half of the needed amount; he did this to provide us with an incentive, to encourage my fellow group members, myself and all volunteers to work hard and remain motivated for this noble cause. He wanted the whole society to work hand-in-hand for genuine and valuable causes that matter," added Shaikha Shamma.
"I have an aunt with Down's syndrome. I am doing this for my aunt and all those like her. I am proud of what we did and wish we can do more," said Sara Al Mehairbi, another volunteer student.
Donations
The volunteers are calling for the society's support. For donations send an SMS with the word "BRICK" to Etisalat 9050 or Du 9100.
