Abu Dhabi: Charitable foundations in the UAE have praised the announcement by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan declaring 2017 as the Year of Giving, and said that this initiative would continue the UAE’s long-held tradition of helping those in need.
The UAE has already developed an international reputation for being among the world’s top countries for providing international aid, and now with the upcoming Year of Giving, the country will turn its attention to creating programmes and initiatives to expand its charitable and volunteering work within the UAE itself.
“The decision to make 2017 the Year of Giving will give our people the opportunity to make contributions in both charitable and volunteering initiatives inside the UAE for those that need it, and this will have a positive effect on the society as a whole,” said Mohammad Hajji Al Khoury, director-general of Khalifa Foundation.
“The Khalifa Foundation has helped 90 countries across the world with humanitarian aid over the last 10 years, so this announcement is not something new from the UAE leadership, which has always put a strong focus on helping society. We will now be using all of our expertise in helping the people inside the UAE as we have done outside the country,” he added.
Rashid Al Hajeri, director of Governmental Communication Department for the Zayed Organisation for Humanitarian Care and Special Needs, said the Year of Giving was carrying on the legacy of Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founding father of the UAE.
“The decision by Shaikh Khalifa to make 2017 the Year of Giving is continuing from the legacy of the late Shaikh Zayed who always worked to help those in need. This initiative is an idea that is in the minds of the people of the UAE and its leadership who will now work together in charitable and volunteering initiatives to help the society,” he said.
“The UAE has already received wide recognition from around the world for the work our people have done for international humanitarian causes, and now we are ready to make the same efforts inside the UAE for any people who needs help,” he added.
Al Hajeri also said that it was a testament to the UAE that it had so many charitable foundations for a small country, and that all of these groups would help contribute to the Year of Giving.
“There are many humanitarian foundations based in the UAE with the goal of helping society, by having all of these organisations it shows that the UAE and its people are ready to work in the field of giving back to the community.
“In our organisation we have many volunteers who help with special needs people and they are also prepared to commit themselves for more volunteering opportunities as part of the Year of Giving, to help with the community and establishing social responsibility,” he added.
George V. Itty, co-founder of Nahtam Social Responsibility, a non-profit organisation that has engaged in several community projects reaching thousands of people across the UAE, also praised the decision and said that a society involved in community engagement would create a strong country.
“Several government policies have already been created towards tolerance, and now with the government also making an official mandate for community work and social responsibility, these pillars together will provide all the needed ingredients for creating a very harmonious and strong society for the UAE,” he added.
