Dubai Cares emphasizes on the importance of providing primary education to children

Dubai Cares aims to provide children access to primary education in developing countries and is considered to be the largest NGO in the world dedicated to this cause.

Her Excellency Reem Al-Hashimy, Chairperson Dubai Cares, said:

"Limited accessibility to quality education among children in developing countries is a significant issue affecting their progress. As part of our endeavor to provide complete integrated education solutions, Dubai Cares strives to eliminate the main underlying issues that prevent access to basic primary education, which is every child's birth right and the foundation of sustained economic growth, sound governance and effective institutions."

Dubai Cares works closely with its international partners to develop and implement education programs reaching 4 million children in 20 countries. We have received and continue to receive tremendous support from the UAE community through generous donations that have been directed towards the building and renovation of 2,172 schools, training 22,370 teachers, establishing 3,157 Parent-Teacher Associations, creating 489 libraries and distributing 1.3 million books written in local languages.

Dubai Cares' achievements over the last two years also include the 'Volunteer for Gaza' campaign which saw the UAE community come together to help assemble 100,000 school and hygiene kits, and emergency aid which were provided to injured Palestinian children with the help of our NGO partners.

A partnership with Save the Children enabled the provision of life-saving assistance to 30,000 children in Ethiopia. In 2008, Dubai Cares announced an grant for education in Sudan and partnered with Save the Children providing direct support to 115,000 children in 200 schools.

For 2009, the establishment has decided to center its efforts on ensuring the integration and prioritization of water, sanitation and hygiene in all its educational programs, based on the firm belief that the provision of clean water to children in developing countries is essential to increase their access to education.

In January 2009 Dubai Cares chaired the first in a series of roundtable forums in New York on the link between water and sanitation and primary education programs in the developing world.