Dubai Cares volunteer nominated for CNN award

Dubai A Dubai resident has been nominated for the prestigious 2012 CNN Hero/Top 10 World Heroes 2012 award.

One of the pioneers of community service in Dubai, Viswanathan Manikan, 61, works as a volunteer for Dubai Cares.

He arrived in the city in 1985 and has since worked tirelessly to combat human trafficking, assist destitute labourers and fight world hunger, poverty and HIV/AIDS.

Manikan is currently employed with Dnata as a Quality Assurance Controller and is also part of their disaster response team as well.

“The philanthropy is a calling — some get it, some don’t,” he said.

Manikan spent his youth participating in social and environmental campagins. In the mid-seventies he was part of the team rallying for the preservation of the Silent Valley tropical forests in Kerala, India. In 1973 the Kerala State Electricity Board decided to build a dam across the Kunthipuzha River. He was in the front line protesting against the dam in order to protect the forest. In 1983 the Indian government abandoned the project and instead built a national park to conserve the forest and its animals.

Over the years he has participated in social causes in Dubai.

One of his early initiatives took place in 1986 when he played a key role in mobilising support for destitute labourers.

In 2009 Manikan spent a week in Cambodia as part of a Dubai Cares project to build schools. “We lived in a remote village with no electricity, no running water and scorching heat. We worked like labourers to help in the construction of school buildings.”

Manikan said one of his greatest moments in life was when he received an award from Dubai Cares. “This is a great honour and it inspires me to do more. I am very proud to be part of Dubai Cares that has impacted the lives of seven million children in 28 developing countries.”

Manikan dreams of a world without poverty: “In a world where poverty and hunger are rising we have close to 1 billion people who go to bed hungry. The vast majority are living below the poverty line earning less than $1.25 (Dh4.60) a day. I want to continue my work and dream of a world without poverty and hunger.”

Manikan said that should he win the CNN award, he will pledge the $50,000 prize money to the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children.