THE extension of the Dubai Cares Campaign is a welcome move and will give the visionary initiative more time to boost the fund already collected for underprivileged children worldwide. The extension reflects the seriousness with which His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, views the campaign.
Under his leadership tremendous efforts have been made and continue to be made for the success of the campaign. Millions of children in the poorer countries of the world have no access to education, a commodity which is top priority on the Dubai Ruler’s list.
Shaikh Mohammed has time and again stressed the importance of children’s education without which no country can make any progress. Since many countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, are unable to allocate enough funds for education in their budgets the Dubai Cares campaign will come as a boon. Dubai is already established on the world map as a major trading and tourist destination where a multitude of nationalities live in peace and harmony —and the ‘Dubai Cares’ initiative is another milestone in the chequered history of this oasis of peace. Dubai’s contribution will add to the untiring efforts of many other agencies worldwide that work for poor children.
There are children who have never known the comfort of a happy home or parents. There are those innocent youngsters who work in factories and fields and don’t know what it is like to go to school. Getting time out to play with friends — the innocent, carefree games of childhood — may be an unheard of luxury for them. Toiling away in their childhood, they reach adulthood without any idea of the things they have missed, and have little choice in the matter. With initiatives like the Dubai Cares Campaign, the future holds great promise for the underprivileged children of the world, and it is also hoped that campaigns like this will lead to more suchinitiatives for other worthy and humane causes.