Abu Dhabi: Frontline healthcare heroes who received the ‘Hayyakum’ scholarship, which provides scholarships for their children to attend public schools in the UAE, have thanked the generous gesture of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
They expressed their gratitude in a new video released on Sunday, featuring families who have benefitted from the scholarships, which reflects Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed’s interest in supporting workers on the frontlines and the community’s appreciation of their efforts.
The Frontline Heroes Office had launched Hayyakum under the direction of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. The initiative is overseen by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Education and Human Resources Council; and the Ministry of Education in partnership with the Frontline Heroes Office.
Helping families
Hayyakum aims not only to provide the children of frontline healthcare professionals with access to high quality education, but also to alleviate the financial stress faced by many frontline healthcare professionals around payment of tuition fees – ultimately encouraging the long-term retention of frontline healthcare professionals in the UAE.
1,850 children of frontline healthcare professionals across the UAE have received the scholarships, which have now commenced and run until the year of graduation. The scholarships cover the cost of tuition, laptops and transportation until graduation from high school.
Wider collaboration
This initiative is part of a wider collaborative framework between the Ministry of Education and the Frontline Heroes Office to ensure sustainable funding for the scholarship programme and also launch other education-focused initiatives to benefit the children of frontline professionals across the UAE.
The Frontline Heroes Office was established in July 2020 by decree of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and is under the direction of the Chairman of the Frontline Heroes Office, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed.
Supporting frontline professionals
The Frontline Heroes Office will support a comprehensive range of frontline professionals, including medical and non-medical staff working in the health sector, such as doctors, nurses, pharmacists, cleaning and services personnel, as well as protection and prevention workers, security and emergency workers, and sanitisation workers.