Dubai: A UAE Water Aid campaign to provide access to fresh drinking water for more than 5 million people across the world has been launched.
The project was launched yesterday by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to coincide with Ramadan.
The campaign will involve digging wells and providing water pumps to provide areas in need with water purification equipment.
According to statistics by international organisations more than 880 million people around the world lack clean drinking water and 3.6 million people, 90 per cent of whom are under the age of five, die every year due to thirst and diseases caused by unclean water.
“As usual we welcome the generous month of Ramadan with charitable initiatives and our hands extended to needy people. We ask Allah Almighty to accept our worship and good deeds,” said Shaikh Mohammad.
“We are determined to plant a seed of goodness in every place around the world, inspired by the legacy of the late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and the UAE as a capital of humanitarian activities. Emiratis are always there to extend a helping hand to the needy worldwide,” he added.
“We will not stop launching charitable initiatives every year during Ramadan because the UAE was built upon the eternal principle of doing good deeds in the world, and we will continue in the footsteps of the founding fathers who laid this charitable approach,” said Shaikh Mohammad.
“Water in our land is a great blessing, and our ancestors knew its precious value because they were deprived of it. We are also well aware of its value because a considerable portion of our financial resources are allocated to provide water. We have to thank God for this blessing by preserving it and helping those who are in need around the world,” he said.
Shaikh Mohammad launched the campaign as he chaired the first meeting of the Organising Committee of the UAE Water Aid campaign, in the presence of Shaikh Maktoum Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai.
Shaikh Mohammad instructed the organisers of the campaign to provide clean water to the most needy areas in coordination with international organisations, as well as with the Emirates Red Crescent (ERC) and UAE embassies. He stressed the importance of the media’s cooperation to reflect the humanitarian and national spirit of Emiratis and convey the campaign’s humanitarian message to all segments of society, particularly the young, to instil the spirit of giving in their minds during the month.
The campaign will kick off on the first day of Ramadan in cooperation with ERC and all charitable and humanitarian societies in the country, with effective participation by private organisations and media institutions.
The meeting was attended by Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs and Chairman of the campaign’s committee, Mona Ganem Al Merri, Director-General of the Dubai Government’s Media Office, and other officials.
