Dubai Cares

Dubai Cares takes a comprehensive approach to identifying and addressing universal obstacles to education. We work in partnership with global aid and development agencies, as well as private corporations to improve children’s access to education in the neediest of developing nations, helping children and their communities escape the trap of poverty while becoming active contributors to sustainable development.

Pivotal to our work is the active engagement of local communities in Dubai and the wider United Arab Emirates to donate money and volunteer their time to help support our cause. The multicultural community has shown overwhelming support for Dubai Cares since its inception.

		Child Friendly, Quality Education One third of children in developing nations do not complete five years of primary education, the minimum required to achieve basic literacy. Another third drop out before high school matriculation. In developed nations, over 33% of students complete university, while in developing nations, this figure is less than 5%. Education is a basic human right. Dubai Cares is working to eliminate the underlying causes that prevent children's access to quality primary education through funding programs in infrastructure, health and nutrition, quality of education and water and sanitation. We believe that school children are agents of change to reach the wider community and that schools act as focal points for sustainable change, as best practices and information are instilled into the community. When we strengthen schools, we strengthen communities.
		Infrastructure Access to education in developing nations is often impeded by an extreme shortage or complete lack of schools. Where schools do exist, severely dilapidated buildings, long distances, poor and/or unsafe roads and lack of transportation often render them inaccessible. Limited resources have resulted in under-qualified teachers, overcrowded classrooms and unsafe buildings. Rural areas tend to lack schools and teachers, who are more available in urban areas. Children are less likely to enroll in school and more likely to drop out prior to completing their education. Conflict-affected countries perhaps suffer most, with schools ruined or seriously damaged; roads destroyed, under fire or laden with land mines, basic supplies cut off and people fleeing. Creating and improving physical infrastructure provides a protective environment that reduces risks to children, while giving them a permanent place to learn. By building and renovating schools, fences, toilets and providing classroom furniture and equipment, Dubai Cares is increasing the access of education for millions of children, increasing enrollment and improving attendance.
		Health & Nutrition One in three children's brain in developing nations – 65 million kids – suffer malnutrition-related impairment by the time they reach primary school, rising to over 40% in parts of South Asia. Roughly 28% are underweight or growth-stunted. Over 2.2 million children die each year because they are not immunized, one million from malaria, which causes 350-500 million illnesses each year, 80% in Africa. In partnership with aid agencies, Dubai Cares supplies nutrition supplements and works to increase awareness of health and nutrition in developing nations, reducing malnutrition and diseases while increasing enrollment and regular attendance of students in primary schools.
Quality of Education School systems in many countries are chronically underfunded and understaffed. In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, 3.8 million teachers must be recruited by 2015 in order to achieve universal primary education. Yet the quality of teaching suffers when teachers do not speak the native language of their pupils, cannot read instructional manuals, do not receive training for new curricula, do not know enough content to teach or have little training in pedagogical methods. Much of the developing world is plagued with high pupil-to-teacher ratios, some above 60 students to 1 teacher. The less time a teacher can spend with each student, the less those students will learn. In order to sustain and improve primary education and narrow the gap between standards in the developing and developed worlds, Dubai Cares works with local agencies to strengthen teacher performance, train principals, review curricula, replenish school supplies and create community dialogue with schools.
		Water & Sanitation In January, 2009, Dubai Cares chaired the first in a series of roundtable forums on the relationship between Water, Sanitation and primary education in the developing world. Together with UNICEF, Save the Children, OXFAM, Care International and Water Aid, the forum defined statistical indicators that link access to clean water and access to education, and analyzed advantages among the approaches of Dubai Cares and its global partners to create a unified cluster program model. Potable water and hygienic sanitation facilities in schools are essential to ensuring a complete and integrated education solution. Access to poor quality water and lack of clean sanitation increases poverty through reduced family income and elevates absenteeism.

WASH – Water, Sanitation, Hygiene

In 2009, Dubai Cares is mobilizing international aid agencies to prioritize and integrate cost effective and rapid high impact interventions in education programs in developing nations to ensure sustainability and community development. In January 2009, Dubai Cares chaired the first in a series of roundtable forums on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) in schools. The objective of the roundtable was to create an effective program model that will maximize impact in developing countries where lack of access to primary education is attributed to deficiencies in clean water and proper sanitation.
The lack of gender-separate bathrooms keeps girls out of school. Over the next five years, Dubai Cares will build 300 new facilities in rural Yemen alone to overcome this obstacle. Children are the most effective community change agents. By promoting effective hygiene practices at school and in their communities, Dubai Cares will help these students reduce the spread of disease, improve enrollment and attendance in primary schools - improve academic achievement while promoting gender equality.

• Provision of water at schools would result in an additional 443 Million school days per year
• Providing water, sanitation and hygiene reduces diarrheal deaths by 65%
• The simple act of washing hands with soap and water reduces diarrheal diseases by over 40%
• 400 Million school-age children are infected by intestinal worms, causing dysentery, anemia and malnutrition
• 11% more girls attend school when sanitation is available
• 320 Million productive working days could be created by providing access to potable water within 1 kilometer

Emergency Response

Dubai Cares considers the welfare of children essential to our mission of providing access to quality primary education. We believe that education can reap rich benefits only when children have a stable environment. The continuity of education is as important for a child’s overall development as ensuring their physical well being. In acute emergency situations, Dubai Cares has extended support to children whose education and physical safety were at grave risk.

Cyclone Nargis, Myanmar

In May, 2008, Cyclone Nargis caused catastrophic destruction in Myanmar, leaving at least 146,000 dead and thousands more missing. The worst natural disaster in Myanmar’s history, Nargis left more than one million people displaced.

Dubai Cares delivered one of the first aid shipments to Myanmar, containing 60 tons of relief supplies, including 10,000 school kits, thousands of water purifiers and 200 temporary structures to serve as schools and child protection centers in affected areas. Dubai Cares’ commitment to providing Myanmar’s children with the comfort of a caring environment hastened their rehabilitation from the trauma of the cyclone – followed by a quick return to formal learning.

Gaza War

An estimated 275,000 children of primary school age endured 22 days of attacks on Gaza starting 27 December, 2008. 1,324 Gazans were killed, including 437 children under the age of 16, and 1,890 children were wounded; thousands more suffered the loss of loved ones. Nearly $2 billion in assets were destroyed, including 4,000 homes, 600–700 factories, small industries, workshops and business enterprises, 34 health facilities and over 50 UN facilities. More than 60 schools were damaged.

Dubai Cares identified and acquired supplies for 50,000 school kits and 50,000 hygiene kits. 8,327 volunteers worked tireless over 6 days to compile 100,000 kits that were sent to Gaza in early February 2009, along with fully equipped portable classrooms to accommodate 440 students in 11 classrooms with two bathrooms. In response to dramatic need, a second shipment of classrooms and kits put an additional 460 students back to school in early March.

Dubai Cares partnered with La Chaine de l’Espoir to provide emergency medical assistance due to the alarming number of child casualties and serious injuries. Over 100 children required urgent surgical intervention, particularly cardiac; hundreds of others received medical attention.