Donations poured in at a week-long fundraiser for Syrian refugees at Dubai’s Mirdif City Centre last month.
Residents flocked to the mall from May 25 to May 31 to donate and educate their children about the plight of Syrian refugee families.
"Just as children graduate to a higher form of education, our campaign has 'graduated' to a new level of awareness by showing the public that education can put together the pieces of what war has broken: broken homes, broken dreams and broken communities," said Sheikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, the eminent advocate for refugee children for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
“By joining hands at this fundraising event, the people of the UAE have become a shining symbol of hope, proving that we can create heartwarming stories of generosity and courage”.
Sheikha Jawaher launched in the UAE The Big Heart Campaign for Syrian Refugee Children in June last year.
The effort raised more than US$13 million (Dh47m) from individuals, companies and semi-government entities in the country.
In January this year, a new phase of the campaign, aiming to provide education opportunities to Syrian refugee children, was launched.
More than 4,000 schools have either been destroyed or converted into emergency shelters, according to the UNCHR and Unicef.
Donations will be collected through bank transfers to the account name Salam Ya Seghar “For Syrian Refugee Children”. Account number 00344 3043 0012; and Iban AE5804 100000 3443043 0012.
People can contribute by texting the word “donate” to the following numbers: Etisalat users should send the text to 2000 to donate Dh10, 2002 for Dh50, 2003 for Dh100. Du users can text 9965 to donate Dh10, 9967 for Dh50 and 9968 for Dh100.
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