Fashion for charity in the UAE

Runway to Relief was a charity fashion show held at the Emirates International School last month, in association with Si Fashion Galerie. The idea was initiated by Harsh Sajnani, a grade 12 student of Emirates International School, who was thinking about how he could use the resources he had been blessed with to contribute to a greater cause.

He said: "We live in a sheltered society today where most of us tend not to value the fortunate state we are in. We should all take at least a few steps forward in order to give back to those who aren't as fortunate".

Soon Revna Adnani, another grade 12 student of Emirates International School, joined the process of contributing largely by involving several sponsors.

The two 16 year olds set out to organise the school's first charity auction and fashion show. All aspects of the show were handled by the students of the school, with over 50 students involved in the event from modelling, to working back stage, to taking photographs.

Students from grade 10 through 13 dazzled the stage in 19 cocktail dresses created by Si Fashion Galerie especially for the event. There was also a special catwalk appearance by children with special needs from the Al Noor Centre for Special Needs, which was induced by the Best Buddy Programme at the Emirates International School.

Over 400 people attended the event, and 16 dresses were sold at the auction and the remaining gowns will be sold at Si Fashion Galerie in the coming week.

The Runway to Relief event raised around Dh24,000, which will be donated to Red Crescent and United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) to provide aid to people in the aftermath of natural disasters.

The reader is a grade 12 student at the Emirates International School in Dubai

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