By Nykoel Dinardo
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates – The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) announced yesterday that it will be partnering with the United Arab Emirates Red Crescent Authority (RCA) to launch a major fund raising campaign. The campaign will be based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) under the guidance of Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak, widow of the UAE’s founder and the president of the UAE Women’s Association. The money raised will go into the Sheikha Fatima Fund for Refugee Women and the UNHCR and RCA will direct it to projects related to refugee women and children.
The fund was created in 2003, when the former first-lady donated approximately $540,000 (US). However, it had difficulty getting off the ground when the UNHCR office in the UAE closed.
Aimed to draw attention to the situation of refugee women and children, the campaign will last 90 days. Its launch was scheduled during the month of Ramadan, a time when charitable giving is strongly encouraged throughout the Islamic world. The campaign includes lectures and other events with civil society organizations, schools and the private sector. There will also be mock refugee stations set up in malls, a poster campaign, and radio and television advertisements. It is hoped that entrepreneurs and corporate leaders will take the most active roles.
The money raised during the campaign will help provide basic medical services, shelter, food and education to refugees from regions such as Afghanistan, Somalia, Georgia, and Iraq. The Fund will target women and children specifically as beneficiaries. It has already contributed to projects including the donation of sewing machines to women in Afghanistan, and a vocational education project in Yemen. There are also plans to set up classes for children with special needs in the Lahaj district of Yemen.
Hamdi Bukhari, the UNHCR Deputy Regional Representative in the Gulf Cooperation Council Countries, explained that women and children make up over 60 percent of refugees worldwide. He stated that this campaign is the first in a series of initiatives in the upcoming months.
For more information, please see:
Khaleej Times – Shaikha Fatima Fund to Help Refugee Women, Children – 16 September 2008
The National – Fatima’s Fund for Refugees Relaunched – 16 September 2008
NDTV Arabia – New UAE Fund to Help Refugee Women, Kids – 16 September 2008
ReliefWeb – Fundraising Campaign Launched in Abu Dhabi – 16 September 2008
UNHCR – Fundraising Campaign Launched in Abu Dhabi – 16 September 2008
