The World's Largest Charity Fund Drive Celebrates Its Resounding Success

Dubai celebrated the unprecedented success of its 1 Billion $ charity Drive to help educate the neediest of the needy children from around the world. "Dubai Cares" has broken all previous records to become the world's largest fundraising drive, that too in a record time of 8 weeks.

The seemingly unbelievable task was achieved through a single individual's initiative: H.H.Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

During the closing ceremony of the campaign 'Dubai Cares', its initiator himself stunned the august audience by announcing a donation equaling the collected amount of half billion $ himself, bringing the amount to double: Dhs.3.4 billion, approximately 1 Billion dollars.

"I am a leader. I usually lead. But why did I wait till the end? To double the budget," were his words to the invited guests and the public who rose in unison to applaud one of the greatest visionary leaders of modern times.

'Dubai Cares' was launched during the Holy month of Ramdan 8 weeks ago by the Dubai Ruler to collect funds to educate deprived children in countries around the world. During the launch ceremony in September, Sheikh Mohammed had remarked, "Education offers one of the clearest and most effective ways to turn good intentions into actions that change the lives of people immeasurably and for the better. The satisfaction to be gained from a single act that helps the needy or curbs injustice can be immense. Imagine how much stronger that satisfaction must be if that act helps - as only education can - to free generation after generation from grinding poverty."

The proceeds of the charity drive will go towards helping educate one million children in some of the poorest countries of the third world.

The money will be used to build schools, train teachers, provide teaching materials and offer scholarships, as well as arrange feeding programs and medical checkups for students.

The initiative is the first of its kind in Dubai and has received the backing of the emirate's private sector, with several high profile companies and individuals making substantial donations to the cause.

Dubai cares showed people from all walks of life, students, housewives, work teams, professionals, companies, business men and philanthropic individuals all pitching in and making major contributions. Sheikh Mohammed's children made field visits to third world countries to study the depth of illiteracy first hand so that the help would be provided to the really needy children. Dubai Cares plan to cooperate with United Nations to distribute and channelize the funds in the most useful manner.

It will be appropriate to end this short communication quoting the father of "Dubai cares" himself: "If we want to champion prosperity and progress, we cannot ignore poverty. We should therefore emphasize the role of education as the most powerful weapon in breaking the vicious circle of poverty"