DUBAI // Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, has made a personal donation of Dh25 million to the UAE Water Aid Campaign, on behalf of the citizens of the UAE.
The donation, on the second-last day of the appeal, will give clean drinking water to 1 million people across the globe.
The total pledged by residents and organisations, which hit Dh180m on Tuesday, means that the campaign will help more than 7 million people.
Sheikh Mohammed also announced a foundation would be set up to focus on water sustainability and innovation research, and a US$1m (Dh3.6m) award to find sustainable and innovative solutions for water purification using solar energy.
“Water is the spirit of life and providing it for the needy is reviving millions of people,” he said.
Sheikh Mohammed originally launched the appeal to provide water to 5 million people.
Mohammed Al Zaroni, head of the Emirates Red Crescent, which is implementing the water projects overseas, said: “There is a saying in Islam that the best charity you can give is to quench someone’s thirst.
“I want to thank everyone who has donated to UAE Water Aid.
“No matter how big or how small the donation was the difference it makes in the lives of people will always be big,” Mr Al Zaroni said.
“Water is a basic necessity of life. No matter how much good you try to do to help people in impoverished parts of the world, without water there will be no success.
“This is why this initiative is so important. It sets the foundation for all other relief work to be successful.
“We plan to complete 600 shallow water wells in different part of Africa by the end of Ramadan.”
Dubai’s Al Ahli and Al Nasr sports clubs donated Dh500,000 and Dh125,000, which will help another 25,000 people. An unidentified philanthropist donated Dh300,000, and the Dubai Ladies Club gave Dh500,000 from a charity fashion show.
The Dubai Women’s Association donated Dh50,000 to the cause.
Emirati businessman Issa Al Serkal donated Dh1m, which was matched by Al Rostomani group, providing clean water for 80,000. Employees of Dar Al Takaful came together to give Dh50,000 to the UAE Water Aid.
Hassan Al Fardan Group donated Dh150,000, while Liberty Dental Clinic gave Dh100,000, Nedaa Professional Communications Corporation donated Dh50,000, and Naffco pledged Dh30,000. The Sustainable City project in Dubai pledged Dh250,000 to the campaign to provide clean water to 10,000 people.
The cash will fund relief efforts up until the end of the year, said Mr Al Zaroni.
Emirates Red Crescent has completed 177 projects to provide water to 267,960 people in Afghanistan, Ghana, India, Tanzania, and Iraq.
Dr Mohammed Al Falahi, secretary general of the Emirates Red Crescent, said it had dug wells, provided water tanks and purification and found solutions to prevent water being wasted.
Afghanistan was one of the first countries to benefit from the project. Seventy-three wells have been drilled to aid 15,960 people in areas that have the most difficulty accessing water.
In the province of Erbil, in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Red Crescent drilled four boreholes to help 150,000 people, with work on a fifth under way. The water will be pumped to reservoirs with a capacity of 120,000 cubic metres to serve the province.
In Tanzania, the charity drilled 20 wells to provide fresh water to 40,000 people in about 27 villages in the region of Loliondo.
The Red Crescent also drilled 50 wells in six states in Ghana, benefiting 50,000 in areas with severe drought, while in India 30 wells were drilled in four states for the benefit of 12,000 people.
The UAE Charity Authority is taking part in the project by distributing clean drinking water to people in Palestine, with half a million bottles of chilled mineral water handed out to worshippers at Al Aqsa Mosque.
“Some of the worshippers in Al Aqsa Mosque need to wet their lips just so they can perform their prayers after the hardship of the journey from Palestinian territories,” said Ibrahim Rashid, head of the charity’s office in the West Bank.
Omar Kisswani, director Al Aqsa Mosque, praised the charity’s efforts in providing iftar meals and meeting the needs of people at the mosque, such as donating 300 umbrellas to protect visitors from heat and sunstroke.
Emirates Red Crescent is also providing Palestinians with food parcels for iftar meals. The charity is also busy with its humanitarian relief effort in Gaza, where Dh25m in aid has been sent by the President, Sheikh Khalifa.
malkhan@thenational.ae