Play 'Freerice' game as you feed the hungry

During September 11-21 various charity, tolerance and environment friendly activities are organised by various organisations, universities and community groups, under the 'Compassionate UAE' banner.

UAE residents have until September 21 to play the Freerice game and feed the hungry. The online trivia game (http://freerice.com/content-group/compassionate-uae) donates 10 grains of rice to feed the world's hungry for every correct answer the player chooses.
"You have to register first, but it's really easy and addictive. In just a few minutes I raised 500 grains of rice! You can choose different categories for questions and different levels. The best part about this game is that you feel great knowing that your fun time actually helps to feed hungry people," said Natasha Martinova, an Ukrainian resident here.
Freerice is one of the several actions that communities here are organising during Compassionate UAE. During September 11-21 various charity, tolerance and environment friendly activities are organised by various organisations, universities and community groups, under the Compassionate UAE banner, which is part of the larger, international Global Unity Games: Tomorrow Together.
These are an 11 days challenge to bring about unprecedented unity in communities around the world through compassionate action and service.
The Global Unity Games began on September 9, the day of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Centre towers in New York, which is now known as the National Day of Service and Remembrance, and they continue through September 21, the International Day of Peace.
From USA to India, Philippines, Spain, Tanzania and the UAE, the Compassionate Games got thousands of individuals and teams playing for the "survival of the kindest".
Here, in the UAE, there are dozens of groups and organisations involved. Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, for example, is contributing one brick towards building schools every time someone "donates" a smile.
Participants are asked to upload a photo of themselves smiling, using the hashtag ?#?YasJoyofEid on the www.yasjoyofeid.ae. Each photo counts for one brick and eventually goes towards building a brighter future for children in Pakistan and Mauritania. So far, 19,796 smiles were donated.
 Zayed University (ZU) is organising a "Save Three Lives Blood Drive". According to the ZU, every three seconds someone needs a blood transfusion to help the likes of Thalassemia patients, road accident victims and people undergoing surgeries.
"The need for blood far outweighs the speed that the Blood Donation Centre can collect it, so if you're brave enough to donate, you can be safe in the knowledge that you're making a big difference," stated ZU.
"Each unit of blood can be separated into several components like red blood cells, plasma and platelets, which means that a single donation could save the lives of several people".
All Compassionate UAE events are listed on www.facebook.com/CompassionateUAE/events.

• Abu Dhabi