HIPA Launches ’For You’ Initiative To Bring Happiness To Children

The Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award, HIPA, has launched a humanitarian initiative under the title ‘For You’ to provide schoolchildren around the world with stationery. Organised in accordance with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council, the initiative will be launched in partnership with the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, KHDA, the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, Emirates Post Group, and Dubai Media Incorporated.

The initiative was announced this morning at a press conference at the HIPA Headquarters in Downtown Dubai.

It will initially see thousands of small boxes distributed to UAE school children who will fill them up with stationery and other school supplies of their choice. They will then be delivered to school children in different parts of the world.

The Secretary-General of HIPA, Ali bin Thalith, said, "As per the directives of His Highness the Crown Prince of Dubai and Patron of HIPA, we have worked tirelessly over the past few months to prepare for this initiative to be HIPA’s participation in the ‘Year of Zayed’. It was certainly a challenge to come up with an innovative concept which can teach school children in the UAE the value of giving and helping out those less fortunate. By giving the children the chance to pick their own gifts to send to children in other countries, HIPA has become a bridge of love and charity between the UAE and the rest of the world."

Bin Thalith continued, "We are also proud to work on this initiative with other organisations that have been pioneers in philanthropy in the past... We have no doubt that the initiative will be a great success with the help of these organisations and that it will have a positive impact on society in the UAE and abroad. Thankfully, we have already completed the first step in this initiative at the end of last year during a visit to the UAE-Jordanian refugee camp in Jordan and we will announce more developments in the near future. "

Once the boxes have been filled by the children, they will be collected by the Emirates Post Group and delivered to the ERC for dispatch around the world.

Dubai Media Incorporated will help to promote the initiative to the general public.

Rashid Mubarak Al Mansouri, the Deputy Secretary-General for Local Affairs at the ERC, said, "The culture of charity and giving is deeply rooted in the UAE’s society, which will fittingly play a crucial role in the ‘For You’ initiative... (It) will bring happiness and hope to many children around the world through the massive efforts put by communities in the United Arab Emirates... During the first stage of the initiative, we successfully delivered a number of boxes to children at the UAE-Jordanian refugee camp and have future plans to improve and widen our efforts and make this a successful initiative for all those involved."

Fatima Al Marri, the Chief Executive Officer at KHDA said, "By giving a unique opportunity for young people to unite their efforts towards a good cause, the ‘For You’ initiative inspires students to give back to the community through charity. It also presents an opportunity for them to improve their communication skills by connecting them with children in different parts of the world and immersing them in the everyday struggles that their counterparts may encounter. At KHDA, we are very proud to be a part of this initiative and we will encourage all schools and students to participate in the collection drive and be a part of this very noble cause."

The Acting CEO of Emirates Post Group, Abdullah Mohammed Al Ashram, said, "To be part of the ‘For You’ initiative is a perfect translation of the vision and generosity of the UAE and its founder, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. "

Praising the humanitarian and charitable projects launched by HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid, he said that: "The Emirates Post Group’s participation in this initiative is a national duty shared by all those involved, and that is to foster a culture of volunteer work and charity in the younger generations coming up in this great nation. At Emirates Post Group, we will give our absolute support to this initiative through all logistical and strategic means and look forward to working with all our partners to achieve the desired goals."

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