Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives and Union Coop signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) whereby Union Coop will sponsor Dubai Cares’ upcoming “Volunteer Emirates” edition that will be held in support of children in Jordan who are affected by the Syrian crisis. This Back to School edition of “Volunteer Emirates” will run at Al Boom Tourist Village from June 17 to 22 with the support of 3,000 expected Dubai Cares volunteers who will assemble 50,000 school kits to be distributed to Syrian refugee children in Jordan.
According to UNHCR, in 2009, 94 per cent of Syrian children attended primary and lower secondary education, by June 2016 only 60 per cent of children were in school in Syria, leaving 2.1 million children and adolescents without access to education in Syria. In neighboring countries, over 4.8 million Syrian refugees are registered with UNHCR, amongst them around 35 per cent are of school-age. In Turkey, only 39 per cent of school-age refugee children and adolescents were enrolled in primary and secondary education, 40 per cent in Lebanon, and 70 per cent in Jordan. This means that nearly 900,000 Syrian school-age refugee children and adolescents are not in school.
Commenting on this new initiative, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares said: “Through this initiative, we are ensuring that children affected by the Syrian crisis regain a sense of normality. Something as small as a school bag given to a child at the beginning of a new school year can make a difference in that child’s life. Dubai Cares will continue to do its best to positively impact the learning experience of that children affected by the Syrian crisis by ensuring they get the support and resources they need to rebuild their lives. Union Coop’s immensely generous sponsorship is instrumental to the success of this initiative, as it illustrates the organization’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, and its belief not just in the work we do, but in the transformative power of education.”
Mr. Harib Mohammed bin Thani, Director of Operations division said: “Union Coop is sponsoring Dubai Cares’ ‘Volunteer Emirates’ initiative to ensure children affected by the Syrian crisis receive the basic school kits before the beginning of the academic year. Such a sponsorship stems from Union Coop’s humanitarian vision which aims to make CSR as a standard business practice within the company. Through this initiative, we aim to contribute to the dissemination of knowledge and welfare among children affected by the Syria crisis who are in dire need of such support at the time being.”
The initiative is expected to attract thousands of volunteers over a period of six days. The volunteers will assist Dubai Cares in assembling school kits that will include a backpack, a pencil case, A5 notebooks, a sketchbook, a calculator, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, pens and crayons, rulers, stickers and labels. Dubai Cares, with the support of its implementing partner Save the Children, will then distribute the assembled school kits to children in Jordan who are affected by the Syria crisis ahead of the beginning of academic year 2017/2018.
The Back to School edition of “Volunteer Emirates” is in line with the UAE’s ‘Year of Giving 2017’, with Dubai Cares involving members of the UAE community to help pack the school kits. Moreover, Union Coop’s sponsorship for this initiative also falls under the first pillar of the Year of Giving 2017,which aims to engage public and private sector firms in developing projects as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) objectives.