Sharjah students help raise Dh400,000 for Gaza relief efforts

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, president of the American University of Sharjah, praises students for their contributions

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, president of the American University of Sharjah, with students who raised funds for Gaza. Photo: Sheikha Bodour / X

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Community-spirited students in Sharjah have won praise after helping to raise Dh400,000 to support crucial relief efforts in Gaza.

Young people at the American University of Sharjah were part of a major solidarity campaign in aid of civilians caught up in the Israel-Gaza war.

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, president of the university, hailed their fundraising feats in a message on social media on Friday.

“A solidarity campaign for Gaza co-led by American University of Sharjah students raised over AED 400,000, which has been handed to the Emirates Red Crescent and The Big Heart Foundation,” Sheikha Bodour wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I’m proud of our students, who quickly mobilised the ‘Tarahum for Gaza’ campaign to collect donations and essentials for Gaza.

“The Dh400,000 raised will help Emirates Red Crescent and the Big Heart Foundation in vital relief work.”

The Tarahum for Gaza initiative – which means Compassion for Gaza in English – was launched by the Emirates Red Crescent last month to provide humanitarian support to the Palestinian people.

It was established in partnership with the World Food Programme, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Community Development.

The ERC – the humanitarian arm of the UAE government – has opened 26 donation centres across the UAE to collect aid for families affected by the continuing conflict.

More than 16,000 volunteers have packed about 61,000 boxes of urgent relief aid – including food, medical supplies and hygiene products – at a series of aid events held over the past month.

The UAE's latest Gaza aid collection event will take place in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

This weekend's event – the ninth in total – will be held at Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal 2, in Mina Zayed Port, from 9am to 2pm.

At least 10,818 people have been killed in Gaza since the war broke out.

Israel launched air strikes on or near at least three hospitals on Friday, further stressing the Palestinian enclave's precarious health system as it struggles to cope with thousands of wounded or displaced people.

The American University of Sharjah will host a further fundraising event in support of Gaza on Saturday, which will feature Palestinian-themed workshops, foods and film screenings.

The event, which will be held from 11am to 5pm, is open to students, staff, faculty members, alumni, and their families.