Dubai’s Gift to the World
Dubai stopped surprising the world with its pioneering projects and breathtaking initiatives long ago. The emirate comes up with something new and awe-inspiring almost on a daily basis. However, what goes largely unnoticed in the rest of the world is the tremendous work the emirate has been doing on social and humanitarian front.
Last year His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum unveiled a landmark initiative called Dubai Cares during the holy month of Ramadan. Even though the original target of the initiative was far modest, the personal involvement of Shaikh Mohammed encouraged everyone including national and multinational companies and ordinary individuals to contribute unprecedented amounts to the campaign.
The campaign managed to raise a whopping Dh 1.7 billion ($463.8 million). The Vice-President and Prime Minister dramatically boosted the effort by doubling the amount. The Dubai Cares has successfully used those funds to help the needy in the world’s poorest of poor regions making a real, meaningful difference by setting up schools and offering primary education to at least a million children.
The new campaign, Noor Dubai, unveiled by Shaikh Mohammed on Wednesday is equally ambitious. Coming as it does during Ramadan once again, the blessed month of piety and mercy and caring and sharing, the initiative seeks to offer the invaluable gift of sight to one million people. All in all the Noor Dubai initiative aims at curing a total of 160 million visually impaired people around the world.
As Shaikh Ahmad Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum so rightly put it, Noor Dubai is a gift from the UAE to the world. This being the month of Ramadan, Shaikh Mohammed couldn’t have unveiled this noble initiative at a more appropriate time. It celebrates the spirit of sharing, generosity and giving that this month epitomises.
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