Dubai Cares today launched its 2014 Ramadan campaign, urging UAE residents to ramp up efforts in order to ensure universal education for children in developing countries. Through a series of visual stories from beneficiary countries, the Dubai Cares “What If?” Ramadan campaign draws attention to the realities faced by children in the developing world and the impact that lack of education holds for their future.
The campaign encourages the UAE community to take a step back and imagine the lives of children in developing countries, who have to forgo school to help their families earn a living. It also asks UAE residents to step into the shoes of those children who have no access to education, clean water or sanitation facilities for example, and recognize the hurdles primary-age children in developing countries have to face on a daily basis.
Emphasizing the significance of the campaign, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares said: “We have a strong educational system in place in the UAE, thanks to the commitment of our leadership that is vigilant to maintain high standards from quality primary schooling to higher education. However, there are tens of millions of children around the globe who struggle to receive quality education due to neglect at the local, national and global levels. Our “What If?” Ramadan campaign prompts UAE residents to ask themselves a simple question and compare their reality with that of children in developing countries. Our goal this Ramadan is to ignite the emotions and intellect of UAE residents in order to donate and lend their voices to ensuring quality education for all children. Through our combined efforts side by side with the UAE community, we can build a more stable global environment and lay the foundation for a robust future for new generations.”
In parallel to the launch of the Ramadan Campaign, Dubai Cares also announced that it is now reaching more than 10 million children in 35 developing countries. Through the campaign, Dubai Cares aims to garner the UAE community’s support to reach more children and make a significant contribution in the fight against poverty. According to UNICEF, every second child around the world lives in poverty and faces severe challenges in gaining access to shelter, nutrition, health and sanitation. In addition, 57 million primary age children are out of school, with an estimated 49% projected to never enter school and 25% leaving early without finishing school. Moreover, another 250 million children are attending school but not learning. The Dubai Cares “What If?” Ramadan campaign not only highlights the challenges faced by these children, but also the change education can facilitate in their lives.
The Dubai Cares “What If?” Ramadan campaign touches on the key pillars of Dubai Cares’ programs in developing countries such as school infrastructure, teacher training, girls’ education, early childhood education as well as access to water, health and sanitation, among others. “The children we highlight in our campaign represent a sample of what’s happening in the developing world at large. Those children deserve a fair chance to achieve personal and professional success. They have the potential to grow into productive individuals if they are given access to an ideal learning environment; studies show that schooling raises the average annual gross domestic product of a country by 0.37%. The impact of education is more pronounced in the case of girls, who are more likely to spread education in the entire family and instigate a lasting change in their communities,” added Al Gurg.
The UAE community, both individuals and corporates are invited to get involved in Dubai Cares “What If?” Ramadan campaign by:
- Donating via SMS by sending the word "donation" to 9030, 9090, 9300, 9600 and 9900 to donate AED 30, AED 90, AED 300, AED 600 or AED 900 respectively through our Official Telecom Partner etisalat
- Donating via SMS by sending the codes (TB) or (CW) to the above numbers to donate the respective amounts (for Meraas Properties visitors at The Beach and Citywalk)
- Donating AED 50 by visiting Dubai Cares stand at The Star Atrium in The Dubai Mall from June 30 to July 19 to participate in building a classroom
- Donating AED 50,000 and placing their logo on prominently located lampposts on Plam Jumeirah along with other means of exposure and recognition
- Donating AED 5 or more to your purchase at any of Landmark Group’s retail outlets
- Posting a photo of your Kiri dish on Instagram with the hashtag #kirifeeds; Kiri will make a donation to Dubai Cares
- Instant Cash Discount Coupon offers produced by Integral Shopper and distributed through all Lulu stores in U.A.E; AED 1 will be donated to Dubai Cares for 1 coupon redeemed in your store
- Buying the "Gift of Giving" magnets from Chalhoub Group UAE stores where proceeds will be donated to Dubai Cares
- Buying coffee from Circle K outlets where a percentage of proceeds will be donated to Dubai Cares. You can also round up your bill and donate your change to Dubai Cares
- Purchasing Gold Islamic Dinar coins from Gold Holding where a percentage will be donated to Dubai Cares
- Clicking “like” on Champion Cleaners Facebook page; Champion Cleaners will donate AED 1 to Dubai Cares for every “like”
- Participating in the charity event organized by UAE Financial Markets Association where various items will be auctioned off and proceeds will be donated to Dubai Cares
- Using discount coupons from Unilever to redeem 5 dirhams that can be donated to Dubai Cares
- Making online donations at www.dubaicares.ae
- Conducting personal fundraising activities in support of Dubai Cares through www.justgiving.com/dubaicares. “Just Giving” is an online charity platform where people can raise money for a cause
- Making a direct financial donation through bank deposit to Dubai Cares account or with a cheque addressed to Dubai Cares
- Dropping their contributions at donation boxes placed in various locations throughout Dubai
Over the past seven years, Dubai Cares, with the support of the UAE community, has been facilitating change and development in children’s education in developing communities around the globe. Through its programs so far, the organization built and renovated over 1,500 classrooms, provided more than 1,300 water wells and potable water sources and constructed over 3,400 latrines in schools, provided nutritious food every day to more than 504,000 children in schools, trained over 38,000 teachers, kept more than 2.7 million children free from intestinal worms through its school-based de-worming activities; distributed over 2.1 million books written in local languages and established over 6,750 Parent-Teacher Associations.
The Arabian Radio Network is the official media partner for Dubai Cares “What If?” Ramadan campaign.