When Dubai Cares and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced plans in April to collaborate on new projects to improve children's health and education in the developing world, it marked the latest step in a string of initiatives that has made the Dubai-based charity the world's largest NGO dedicated to primary education.
Launched on September 19, 2007, under the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, it was inspired by his belief that education is the best tool to break the cycle of poverty.
A fundraising campaign marked the launch, with Dh200 million as the target. Contributions, though, far exceeded all expectations, reaching more than Dh1.7 billion in just eight weeks – nearly nine times the initial target.
Dubai Cares aims to improve children's access to primary education in developing countries and is implementing comprehensive development programmes in countries with the highest gap in primary education.
To date, Dubai Cares has reached more than four million children in 20 countries. It is currently building and renovating 2,072 schools, training 22,370 teachers, helping establish 3,157 Parent Teacher Associations, creating 489 libraries and distributing 1.3 million books written in the local languages of the countries in which they are distributed.
Dubai Cares' programmes address the whole process of primary education and include assistance in the areas of infrastructure, health and nutrition, quality of education and, water and sanitation.
With its comprehensive approach to development, Dubai Cares is helping reduce the underlying causes that prevent children's access to quality primary education and is providing individuals the tools to overcome both personal and social challenges and to make concrete contributions to sustainable development.
Actively engaged with international aid and development agencies and private corporations, Dubai Cares is contributing to achieve, by 2015, the United Nations Millennium Development Goals Two and Three – to guarantee universal primary education and to promote gender equality and empower women. The charitable establishment is also contributing to UN MDG 8, which entails developing a global partnership for development.
Since its launch Dubai Cares has partnered with Care International, Médecins Sans Frontières, Microsoft, Oxfam, Room to Read, Save the Children, UNICEF and UNRWA. It is working in 20 countries and communities, including Bangladesh, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cambodia, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Laos, Maldives and Mauritania.
Keep up with the latest business news from the region with the daily Emirates Business 24|7 newsletter. To subscribe to the newsletter, please click here.