ABU DHABI // Volunteers will help to repair and renovate the homes of 21 disadvantaged families across the UAE this Ramadan.
The Emirates Foundation, a youth development philanthropic organisation set up by Abu Dhabi Government, is organising the work as part of its Takatof Ramadan Programme for this year.
Teams of volunteers will paint walls and carry out field surveys before making home repairs and other improvements to properties.
It is part of a series of projects organised by Takatof taking place during the holy month.
“The Takatof Ramadan Programme this year builds on the great successes and momentum achieved by the programme during the past eight years,” said Maytha Al Habsi, chief programmes officer at Emirates Foundation.
“The programme now occupies a leading position and serves as a bridge of communication and human solidarity that connects the volunteers with various social segments that need help during the holy month of Ramadan.”
It is the eighth year of the programme, which works with young people to encourage volunteering and charity activities across the country.
Volunteers begin preparing for their activities a month in advance by meeting the families and providing support based on their social, financial, housing repair and healthcare needs.
This year the programme will feature the return of the Takatof Ramadan Majlis, which will host important dignitaries who have made a significant contribution to the community. They will join the volunteers to share their experiences and success stories.
In the first week of Ramadan programme volunteers in the capital and Northern Emirates distributed food, clothes and electronics to families, together with the Red Crescent.
“These projects came as result of a number of creative ideas submitted by the programme’s volunteers,” Ms Al Habsi said.
“For instance, receiving clothes and electronic appliances from philanthropists, then handing the items out to the UAE Red Crescent which will then distribute them to people in need, both domestically and internationally.”
The main focus of the Takatof Ramadan Programme is to promote a culture of community volunteering by providing a platform for young people to give something back, she said.
Organisers are keen to promote the concept of social responsibility by spreading a little joy to children and the sick.
During the third week of Ramadan the volunteers will provide drinking water to worshippers at evening prayers in mosques across the country.
They will also meet and engage with children and arrange field visits to needy families across the country during Eid Al Fitr, while also distributing clothes.
The project will conclude with visits to children with incurable illnesses in hospitals throughout the UAE, to bring some happiness to their lives by providing toys and electronic devices.
The Takatof Ramadan Programme was launched in 2007 to spread a culture of social responsibility through volunteering.
The Emirates Foundation was launched in April 2005 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and is chaired by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The foundation was relaunched in 2012 under the name Emirates Foundation for Youth Development.
One of its primary aims is to enhance cooperation between the public and private sectors to develop new and long-lasting ways of helping young people in the UAE to take up an active role in the country’s development.
The foundation is funded through contributions from Abu Dhabi Government and the private sector.
For more information visit www.emiratesfoundation.ae.
nhanif@thenational.ae
