Schoolbags full of goodness reach 6,000 needy students

Dubai - The 200 volunteers spent their Saturday packing school backpacks with essential school supplies for schoolchildren from low income families

Earlier this month, Dubai Cares volunteers gathered at a school in Dubai to ensure 6,000 schoolchildren from low-income families in the emirates of Ajman and Ras Al Khaimah can start the new school year with a bang.
The 200 volunteers spent their Saturday packing school backpacks with essential school supplies, and Khaleej Times spoke to two such families who have benefitted from the charitable gesture.
For Mohammed Abu Baker, father of three children, it helped turn a daunting event into one of joy for his family.
The start of the new academic year usually brings with it lots of expense, especially with three children of school-going age (twin girls aged 11 and an 8-year-old boy), but thanks to the initiative, he said he has been able to breathe a sigh of relief this year.
"We were able to save at least Dh500 from the new school bags. We received three school bags including pencil case, coloring pencils, notebooks and sketch books. All the equipment inside will enable my kids to thrive in their studies now," he said.
The Dubai Cares volunteer drive was organised in partnership with Al Ihsan Charity Association, and Egypt-born Abu Baker said it was Al Ihsan that contacted him to come and collect the school packs.
"We were registered as members within the organisation, which is why we got the call. We have various commitments on a daily basis (making it often hard to cope), but education is one of our top priorities. This has helped ensure our kids get a good education despite our struggles," he told Khaleej Times.
On July 15, volunteers managed to assemble 6,000 backpacks, which were handed over to Al Ihsan Charity Association, as part of the Dubai Cares' Volunteer Emirates.
Over the coming weeks, the backpacks will be distributed among students from all nationalities, from kindergarten to Grade 12.
One recipient who has already received her donation was Palestinian Reem Hussein Arafat, mother of a 9-year-old girl.
She said with the cost of education here "slightly high", it creates a huge pressure on parents like her to ensure they deliver what their kids deserve.
"This school backpack has helped me fill in on some of the things I wasn't about to get my 9-year-old kid. It's helped me cut down costs, but without my child missing out."
And in a country where the "general cost of living is high", she lauded Dubai Cares and the Al Ihsan Charity Association for helping her family, and others like hers.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com