Dubai: Al Boom Tourist Village near Dubai Creek was a scene of celebration on Saturday.
The joy of giving and making a meaningful difference to someone’s life was on the face of nearly 400 volunteers who had come together to collect, sort through and pack books that will be dispatched around the world to those who can’t afford it.
The event was part of the Reading Nation Campaign, led by Dubai Cares, and was held on Zayed Humanitarian Day.
Collected from around 500 schools, more than 80,000 books were sorted and packed in more than 600 boxes for distribution to the campaign’s beneficiaries.
“[The] joy of reading can only be understood by avid book lovers and if you combine with that the joy of giving, it becomes more meaningful and valuable. I [am] proud to be associated with the campaign and be part of this noble drive,” said Alia, a volunteer.
Jamila Bint Salem Al Muhairi, UAE Minister of State for Public Education, and officials from the Ministry of Education joined the volunteers of different nationalities from across the UAE at the event.
Working in morning and afternoon shifts, the volunteers sorted the books according to language, content, and target age groups.
Before this process, Dubai Cares had distributed special boxes to more than 500 schools in the UAE.
The boxes were used to collect the books donated by students and place the tags in which students had written personalised messages to the beneficiaries.
Amna Al Najjar, who graduated university recently, volunteered for the programme to share the gift of education with the less fortunate.
“I realise how fortunate we are in the UAE to have everything, including quality education. I am thankful of our leaders for having such facilities for us. I think it is important to have gratitude for what you have, and one of the ways to express this gratitude is to give back to the community and to the less fortunate. Taking part in events like this is my way of saying thank you,” said Al Najjar, who is an Emirati.
Eleven-year-old Venkatesan Sunder is a regular volunteer with Dubai Cares. He said: “It is fun to be here and know that my efforts will help others to read.”
The Reading Nation campaign is one of the UAE’s humanitarian initiatives that was launched during the Holy Month of Ramadan.
With the completion of the sorting and packing process, Dubai Cares has announced that the shipping and distribution of books will be conducted in cooperation with various government entities that are responsible for implementing the Reading Nation campaign, as directed by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
