Dubai: The Reading Nation campaign to distribute five million books to students in need has launched an Open Week till June 16 at more than 800 UAE schools to invite students to donate books.
The campaign was launched at the start of Ramadan by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
The Open Week segment of the campaign is organised under the supervision of Dubai Cares, in collaboration with the Ministry of Education, Abu Dhabi Education Council, and the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) in Dubai.
Dubai Cares is providing participating schools with donation boxes to collect the books and support the campaign’s efforts in providing knowledge resources to refugee children as well as to establish more than 2,000 school libraries around the world.
The campaign is also mandated to support the educational programmes implemented by UAE-based humanitarian organisations around the world.
Besides their donations, students are also given the opportunity to send dedications to the beneficiaries of the campaign on specially created stickers that will accompany the books.
Michael Guzder, executive principal of The Millennium School, Dubai and vice-president of Indian Schools at GEMS, said: “It is our privilege to support the Reading Nation Ramadan campaign… At The Millennium School, the practice of reading is inculcated from the very early stages and is promoted throughout the school years. This campaign gives us the unique opportunity to spread knowledge to places where we cannot ourselves go and ignite a passion for reading and learning — essential steps in the journey of life.”
Dubai Cares CEO Tareq Al Gurg said: “The response has been overwhelming. It is amazing to see the participation of parents who join their children in donating books and in activities such as reading stories and poetry and in raising awareness of the challenges and difficult circumstances children are facing in other parts of the world. It is a truly heart-warming experience and reinforces the human ties that link us with people everywhere — regardless of the differences in the colour of our skin or in our thinking.”
The Reading Nation Ramadan campaign aims to distribute two million books to children and students in refugee camps, and use another two million books to create 2,000 libraries in schools in need around the world. The remaining books will be available to support educational programmes of the UAE’s humanitarian organisations working abroad.
The campaign will continue until the 19th day of Ramadan (June 24) that coincides with Zayed Humanitarian Day.
For more information on the Reading Nation Ramadan campaign or for contact numbers, visit www.readingnation.ae
Reading Nation campaign on track
The Ramadan campaign to collect five million books for students in need has successfully collected more than two million books in its very first week. The success of the campaign is attributed to the overwhelming national response from individuals, organisations, and government entities across the UAE.
On Sunday it was revealed that the number of individual donors has surpassed 10,000 people, who have donated varying amounts via unified SMS/toll-free numbers that have been designated to support the campaign.
Dubai Cares CEO Tareq Al Gurg said: “The remarkable response to the campaign on the official and national levels reinforces the special bond between the UAE leadership and its people. The campaign is heading confidently and steadily towards achieving its targets and indeed surpassing them.
“We encourage people to show their generosity during the month of Ramadan to convey yet again the noble humanitarian message from the UAE to the wider Islamic world. This year’s campaign is distinct from previous humanitarian initiatives that were launched by the country and provides much-needed hope to millions of children as it aims to build an educated generation that can confront future challenges.”
Mohammad Al Zarouni, manager at the Emirates Red Crescent office in Dubai, said the organisation has “already begun the delivery of the books in Jordan and Iraq. These are countries with the highest numbers of refugees in the entire Arab world. We hope our collective efforts as a nation will help the children who are facing exceptionally difficult and challenging circumstances”.
