It is commonly believed that every child is born equal but unfortunately not every child enjoys the same basic rights in life. Many countries, especially the developing and under-developed ones across the world are ridden with several disparities, and irrespective of the underlying reasons for these disparities that can be social, economic or political, the impact on children is detrimental. Poverty is often the basic root cause of the conditions, circumstances and challenges that millions of children face and live with on a daily basis. Limited financial resources have forced nearly 215 million children into labor; worse still, nearly 21,000 die every day from diseases and illnesses that can be prevented or cured.
Education is a critical factor in every child’s physical and intellectual development, which represent key prerequisites for any child to seek employment, progress in life and become a positive contributor to society. Out of the 2.2 billion children in the world, 61 million children around the world don’t go to school. These children face many deterrents in accessing primary education such as poor health, inadequate nutrition, lack of clean drinking water, lack or absence of adequate sanitation facilities, and inappropriate hygiene practices, among others.
Hence as part of its mandate, Dubai Cares works in developing countries with chronic deficiencies in primary education, hand in hand with local and international partners to implement integrated development programs that target the underlying causes preventing children from accessing quality primary education. Currently, Dubai Cares is reaching over 7 million children in 28 developing countries across the world.
Commenting on this occasion, Tariq Al Gurg, Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Cares said: “At Dubai Cares, we strongly believe that education is not only an irrevocable asset, but also an essential right of every child in the world. By investing in the education of children, apart from giving them the chance to lead a life of dignity and achieve prosperity, we also bring about a change that will impact their communities at large, generation after generation. With the kind support and contributions of our partners and the UAE community, we hope to reach millions of other children who still do not have access to education.”
Dubai Cares strongly believes in the power of education as the most effective tool in alleviating children from the shackles of poverty. Despite tremendous progress in recent years, millions of children live a life of despair and hardship, with most if not all of their fundamental rights violated.