Celebrities 'shine spotlight' on charity

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones receive Dh7 million cheque in Dubai on behalf of charity helping Third World children.

Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones during the charity campaign press conference, held at the Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel.

DUBAI // Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones have flown to Dubai to accept a Dh7 million (US$1.9m) donation for impoverished children. Nakheel, the property giant, has donated the money to the Free the Children charity to help provide clean water for children in Third World countries. The donation will be spent on water sanitation projects in Kenya, Sri Lanka and Sierra Leone. The charity was founded by Craig Kielberger and a group of his friends in Toronto when they were only 12 years old. Mr Douglas, who met Mr Kielberger, now aged 24, at a conference six years ago, said he was impressed by the fact that the charity was run by children to help other less fortunate children. "Many diseases are spread through contaminated water and children in these countries often become too sick to go to school," Mr Douglas said. "This just isn't fair for any child. It's something we want to see stopped. "Free the Children addresses the children's need for clean water in many ways - teaching proper hand washing and boiling water. "It also helps to improve education. When children, especially girls, don't have to make long walks to collect water, they can go to school." Douglas said a portion of the donation would be used to fund a trip for 40 school children from Dubai to visit Free the Children projects in Sri Lanka. "They will roll up their sleeves and work on the projects and when they come back here they will inspire others to become involved. If you change a child's perspective you can change the world." Mr Kielberger said the Nakheel donation was "a towering feat of philanthropy". He also thanked Douglas and Zeta Jones for giving up their time to come to Dubai and "shine a spotlight on the issues". The charity has received support from Queen Noor of Jordan, King Constantine of Greece, Sir Richard Branson and Oprah Winfrey, who has featured it on her television programme six times. The actor accepted the cheque from Manal Shaheen, Nakheel's director of sales, marketing and customer services. Ms Shaheen said: "Many of us take access to clean and safe water for granted. We are very pleased to be partnering with Free the Children to help make this a reality for people living in harsh environments in the Third World." [e-mail]