Dubai: Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation has become the first permanent sponsor of the UAE Food Bank. An agreement in this regard was signed by Dr. Raja Easa Saleh Al Gurg, chairperson of the foundation, and Hussain Nasser Lootah, director-general of Dubai Municipality and Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the UAE Food Bank on Thursday, said a press release.
Lootah said the UAE Food Bank and Dubai Municipality are keen to strengthen the principle of cooperation with charities in Dubai in the area of preserving the food from going waste and also wish to provide a new service that enables the community in particular and the affected countries in general to benefit from the excess food in a proper, hygienic and organised way.
He said the UAE Food Bank and Dubai Municipality have adopted a community initiative in partnership with a number of sponsors to activate their role in community service and Al Gurg Charity Foundation wished to be one of the sponsors of the UAE Food Bank initiative, which was launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.
Dr. Al Gurg said: “We are committed to supporting and sponsoring this national initiative in the Year of Giving. We have signed an agreement stipulating our permanent sponsorship of two UAE Food Bank sites in the establishment and operation stages in Satwa and Muhaisnah.”
“It is an honour for our organisation to take the lead in being the first charity organisation to sponsor and support this initiative on a permanent basis,” she said.
Lootah said that the launch of the UAE Food Bank, which falls under the umbrella of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives Foundation, draws special significance as an initiative that has local and regional dimensions, and global human values.
“The UAE Food Bank is an integrated humanitarian system to establish the value of feeding. It includes hotels, food factories, farms, hospitality establishments, supermarkets and a huge number of volunteers. It deals professionally with surplus fresh and canned food under the supervision of the authorities concerned and distributes it inside and outside the country in cooperation with a network of local and international humanitarian and charity organisations. The bank is partnering with major hotel chains, supermarkets, food factories and farms and will open its doors to volunteers to contribute to the distribution of food inside and outside the country,” said Lootah.
He said that the ultimate goal is to put this great value within a sustainable framework, as feeding the food is among the distinguished qualities and values of the people of the UAE, and the legacy of late Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan. “Today, we strive through this new establishment, to involve the largest number of community organisations and volunteers in a new system for charity and giving following in the footsteps of our forefathers,” he pointed out.
“We seek through the UAE Food Bank to consolidate this aspect in our new generations by providing the opportunity for all to be part of the permanent charitable and humanitarian movement that will take the UAE to reach new levels as Shaikh Zayed wanted and endeavoured to cultivate among his people,” he said.
Dr. Al Gurg invited all sponsoring organisations to participate in this pioneering project in its goals and objectives.
She emphasised that Easa Saleh Al Gurg Charity Foundation has become one of the most important charities in the country which has a clear footprint in many areas of charitable work of the country, which aim to meet the needs of the poor and the needy both inside and outside the country, the release added.
