Dubai: Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) has approved 12 main programmes to provide 27 social and humanitarian initiatives that directly support the three themes of the Year of Giving initiative, which was launched by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Dewa’s programmes support the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to implement initiatives to support everyone in the country and establish a permanent change in the way the next generation helps the UAE.
The Higher Committee of the Year of Giving at Dewa, chaired by Saeed Mohammad Al Tayer, managing director and CEO of Dewa, approved the initiatives as part of the authority’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and its efforts to support the Year of Giving initiative. The initiatives will be implemented in cooperation with prominent local and international humanitarian organisations.
Al Tayer noted that Dewa will launch an intranet page that includes 11 volunteering initiatives in the first phase. The site provides a dedicated page for each volunteer that calculates his/her volunteering hours. Dewa is the first government organisation to develop such a site that calculates volunteering hours of each employee.
Dewa has also added a special category for its internal excellence awards for volunteering and charitable initiatives. This supports authority’s efforts to enhance volunteering and social work among its staff.
“Dewa works according to an integrated organisational framework to serve society and promote cohesion among its members. Our social initiatives are part of a comprehensive framework that is aligned with the UAE Vision 2021, the Dubai Plan 2021, and the Dewa Strategy 2021. This includes plan development, launching initiatives, implementation and evaluation according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), to ensure the sustainability of results.
“Dewa cooperates with a number of government and private organisations to promote social responsibility, and encourage volunteer work among its staff and society as a whole. We also work to instill the value of serving the nation in the hearts of new generations to reflect their love for the UAE, which is a value that already fills the hearts of the UAE’s citizens and residents. The ultimate objective that we all strive to achieve is the happiness of individuals and society, to ensure a brighter future for generations to come,” said Al Tayer.
The social and volunteering programmes that Dewa will launch are:
Risalt Khair: To support international relief efforts, educational programmes, and infrastructure development projects in poor countries.
Ghars Al Khair: Will provide hydroponic greenhouses to reduce water consumption by up to 80 per cent, with proceeds from the sales of agricultural produce going to charity. This programme also includes planting Ghaf trees in Dewa’s power plants and projects.
Souq Al Khair: Sells the products and craft items of charities at Dewa’s events and channels, such as Earth Hour, WETEX, Green Week, and the Intranet. Taleem Al Khair: Promotes volunteer work among employees by transferring their knowledge and experiences to others.
Tyour Al Khair: Distributes bird feeders to Dewa staff and the people of Hatta.
Fazat Al Khair: Sells the goods made by inmates and prisoners.
Mahdak Al Khair: Will establish breeding grounds for fish and coral reefs using equipment and old transformers.
Ruwad Al Khair: Helps outstanding orphan students and gives them priority for Dewa’s scholarship programme.
Muaferat Al Khair: Distributes and installs energy- and water-saving equipment.
Sandouq Al Khair: Is a social fund for Dewa staff.
Al Khair programme on Zayed Humanitarian Action Day: Dewa will also donate unused equipment and devices to poor countries.
Al Khair Accelerators: In cooperation with UAE Water Aid Foundation (Suqia), it encourages research to develop innovative solutions to produce water using solar energy.
Dewa’s CSR efforts over the last few years have contributed to an increase in community satisfaction and happiness levels, from 82 per cent in 2013, to 89.01 per cent in 2016. Dewa also received many international awards and certificates in CSR, including the MVO8000 Global certification in CSR, becoming the first government organisation in Dubai to receive this global recognition.
