Dubai Cares helps to make 10,000 children ready for new school year

Hundreds of volunteers set about preparing the school kits in time for the new academic year

Ten thousand pupils have been kitted out for school by an initiative led by Dubai Cares.

The children, from kindergarten to Grade 12, are from low-income families in Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah. The Volunteer Emirates initiative, which has been sponsored by Union Co-op, involved 300 volunteers distributing a huge haul of school kits, with notebooks, sketchbooks, coloured pencils, pens, sharpeners, erasers, whiteboard pens, rulers and pencil cases.

The kits have been handed out across the four emirates in partnership with Gulf Model School, Sheikh Rashid Pakistani School Dubai, Radiant School Sharjah, Al Ihsan Charity Association, Al Rashidyah Private School Ajman and Al Salaf Al Saleh Private School RAK.

“Our goal through this initiative is to ensure that children from low-income families feel well-equipped as they return to their classrooms with all the tools required to start their new academic year on an optimistic note,” said Tariq Al Gurg, chief executive officer at Dubai Cares.

“We hope the children will experience the special childhood joy of the first day back at school with new school essentials, which plays an important role in increasing confidence and happiness as they move forward in their educational journey.

“We are proud to partner again with Union Co-op for its generous sponsorship and continue to feel overwhelmed by the spirit of volunteerism among the UAE community, who sign up and turn out in huge numbers to support our community engagement initiatives.”

Dubai Cares is part of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives scheme.

“It is truly inspiring to see people coming together from all over the UAE to assemble school kits for needy families,” said Gabriela Valeva, one of the volunteers. “Through the new school supplies, we hope that schoolchildren will have a good start in their academic year.”