Dubai: Gulf for Good is organising a hiking trip through Palestine in April to help educate disabled Palestinian children.
Gulf for Good is a Dubai based charity that was established in March 2001 and operates under the patronage of Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority.
Brian Wilkie, chairman of the regional charity, hopes to take a large group of participants on the “Palestine Trail: In the Footsteps of Ebrahim”, so that they can donate a purpose-built extension to an independent, non-political school in Bethlehem.
Gulf for Good organises adventure challenges around the world, inspiring people to do something different.
Wilkie explained how the charity is supported. He said that people sign up to Gulf for Good, paying a small registration fee to cover the working fees of Gulf for Good, then the participants look for sponsorship for their participation in the challenge from friends, family, colleagues, employers and corporates. “One third of the sponsorship collected covers the cost of the challenge and two thirds go to the chosen charity in the region where the challenge will take place.” he said.
“We hold four challenges every year. We have organised 40 challenges over the last 11 years with nearly 900 participants and we have donated well over Dh8 million to projects such as building schools, hospitals and buying ambulances,” Wilkie said.
The money from this trip will go to Hope Flowers School in Bethlehem. This school is an independent, non-political, co-ed school providing education to refugee and disadvantaged children, aged five to 13. Many of the children at the school suffer trauma or learning disabilities. As an independent school, Hope Flowers depends on private donors, but demands a token annual tuition fee of $250 (Dh918) per child.
Gulf for Good will be donating the money to build a second floor extension to the existing building with an area of 500 metre square. The extension will include disabled access toilets, physiotherapy and occupational therapy facilities and special education classrooms, plus a large lift for access. The total project will take 10 months to build.
The Palestine trip, which is the second this year, will take place in April. Wilkie said that participants will follow the path that Prophet Ebrahim took through Palestine. He said that during the trip, they will be staying at people’s homes, small hotels and sometimes with Bedouins. “The trip is safe and it is one of the easier challenges we have, the participants need to be reasonably fit, but it is not a tough one.”
Wilkie added that it is also a chance for people to see first hand what is really happening in Palestine, which he said is very different from what the media shows.
As with all Gulf for Good challenges, the participants will get to visit the school that will be benefiting from the funds and spend time with the children and staff, learning about the work that the school does in the area.
