Dubai Cares, part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, organized a charity art auction in partnership with The Citizen’s Foundation (TCF), to raise funds for the construction of a new primary school unit in Larkana, Sindh province of Pakistan. The funds raised from the event will also cover the school’s operational cost for the first three years. The charity auction, which took place at the Palazzo Versace Hotel in Dubai on October 16, brought together over 400 influential businesspeople and dignitaries from the UAE, including leading members of Pakistan’s diaspora in the country, who bid generously to acquire the art pieces. A number of acclaimed artists from South Asia, Middle East and Europe presented their artworks, with more than 80 art pieces ranging from paintings to sculptures to a few exclusive collector’s items offered at the auction. Among the items was a bat that belonged to former Pakistan cricket team captain Younis Khan, who became the first Pakistani batsman to complete 10,000 runs in test cricket.
The existing TCF School – Dubai Cares Campus in Larkana, which is located in a densely populated area surrounded by several villages, currently has six classrooms and 193 students enrolled at the campus. The existing classrooms have already reached maximum capacity, and the new school unit will be able to accommodate an additional 180 boys and girls.
Speaking about the success of the charity auction, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer at Dubai Cares said: “We are thankful for the overwhelming support from prominent local and international artists, partners and art buyers who made the auction a success. Art is a universal language that brings people together and through this charity art auction, Dubai Cares hopes to help draw attention to the plight of disadvantaged children in Pakistan and around the world, who are denied access to education. The extraordinary generosity of artists who have donated their artworks to this charity auction will guarantee that Dubai Cares and The Citizen’s Foundation continue to fulfill their mission of ensuring children and young people have access to quality education.”
“The Citizens Foundation realizes the power of meaningful art and its profound positive impact. We truly believe that art has the power to unite people and highlight the social issues sensitively. We are grateful to Dubai Cares for their continuous support towards TCF’s mission to educate Pakistan and taking this wonderful initiative to raise funds for TCF schools through an art auction. It is also heartening to see so many young artists generously gifting their art pieces for a good cause – it takes a special kind of generosity to undertake such acts of kindness. TCF believes that education is the real solution to our many socio-economic problems. By enabling education for the less-privileged children, you are giving them a chance to a better life allowing them to create a lasting positive impact for themselves, their families and their community. Education is a real equalizer and a game changer for any society,” said Nilofer Saeed, Director, The Citizens Foundation, while addressing the event.
Pakistan is the world’s sixth most populous country with the highest number of out-of-school-children in South Asia, and the second highest in the world. According to UNICEF studies, out-of-school-children in Pakistan often face deep-rooted structural inequalities and disparities that are most often linked to gender biases, income poverty, child labor, inadequacies in the supply of schools and teachers, particularly in rural and remote areas, lack of infrastructure and school facilities for girls, and inadequate budget allocations and resource distribution.