A catastrophic 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit the Caribbean nation of Haiti on January 12 and devastated its capital city of Port-au-Prince; tens of thousands of Haitians are feared dead including many children. Dubai Cares, the UAE-based philanthropic establishment launched by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is closely monitoring this tragic event.
Tariq Al Gurg, CEO of Dubai Cares said, “Dubai Cares is gravely concerned about the situation on the ground and is in very close contact with its extensive NGO partner network including Care International, Oxfam, Save the Children and UNICEF to ascertain the most effective way forward to address the situation regarding the emergency educational needs of the children of Haiti.”
Dubai Cares’ concern and focus will be to identify effective interventions that ensure affected and vulnerable Haitian children who suffered through the earthquake trauma return to their classrooms and resume normal healthy lives as soon as possible.
Dubai Cares’ emergency relief efforts to date have encompassed the 2008 Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar and Ethiopia’s food crisis. In 2009 Dubai Cares’ “Volunteer for Gaza” campaign saw the UAE community come together to help assemble kits and emergency aid for Palestinian children and supplied child-friendly foldable modular school facilities that benefited 440 students.