UAE | Government

New page in Dubai Cares campaign

The second phase of Dubai Cares was launched on Sunday with an emphasis on volunteering by Dubai residents that would see a million books being donated to the needy in two weeks.

  • By Abbas Al Lawati, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 23:26 November 2, 2008
  • Gulf News

  • Shaikh Mohammad met pupils from Dubai schools after launching the second phase of the campaign on Sunday.
  • Image Credit: Francois Nel/Gulf News
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Dubai: The second phase of Dubai Cares was launched on Sunday with an emphasis on volunteering by Dubai residents that would see a million books being donated to the needy in two weeks.

It was launched on Sunday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State, outlined the success of the campaign during the last year in reaching four times the number of children targeted in developing countries.

"Dubai Cares calls upon all individuals and sectors of the UAE to participate in this year's campaign through which we ... can achieve a sense of fulfilment only attained by reaching out to those in need," said Reem.

The new phase offers residents an opportunity to volunteer in local schools and in three countries abroad, as well as offer their expertise online.

The Million Book Challenge will see thousands of pupils in Dubai reading books for the next two weeks. The campaign will donate a book to a developing country for every book completed by a Dubai pupil. The aim is to reach one million books.

Minister of Education Dr Hanif Hassan praised the new initiative, highlighting the importance of volunteering.

"[This] makes every UAE national proud of his country for seeing their leaders providing for their society and the wider global communities in need," he said.

The book distribution will be managed by Arab non-governmental organisations as well as Room to Read, an organisation that has built 5,630 libraries and 442 schools in various countries.

Dubai Cares was launched in September 2007 as a Ramadan campaign for Dubai residents to raise funds to do their part in ending illiteracy. A total of Dh3.5 million was raised, half of which was donated by Shaikh Mohammad.

Dubai Cares has trained 22,370 teachers, renovated 2,072 schools and established 3,157 parent-teacher associations.

With additional inputs from Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter

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