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2017 Year of Giving: Giving is making a difference,says Shaikh Mohammed

Dubai - What do we want from the Year of Giving? Shaikh Mohammed explains.

Brothers and sisters, 
I would like to send out these words to the people of the UAE on the occasion of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, declaring 2017 as the 'Year of Giving'.
What do we want from the Year of Giving? And what is the giving we are yearning for? And how can the UAE benefit from the Year of Giving? And what can each one of us offer to himself and his society?
Giving is not only donations or charity, but the real giving is making a difference... Difference in a man's life, society or the progress of a country. This is the giving I have learned from the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. He left us the morals, built us the country and dedicated his life. He spent day and night, left no stone unturned, took every road and used every hour creating a difference in people's life. This is the giving we want. Each and every individual, government or private institution, businessman and youth can ask himself: How can we make a difference?
Giving is the instinct Allah has created in us. It is not difficult for us to give and make a difference. Every father can ask himself what giving he can do for his family this year. Every mother can make a big difference in her family, her neighbourhood and community. Every son can ask himself what he can do for his father and mother and make a difference in their lives. Giving is easy... to feed birds is giving, to smile to your neighbour is giving. Being an official and making people happy and being kind to them while implementing the laws is giving.
Our environment requires much giving, such as cleaning up our beaches, deserts and looking after the trees, and being kind towards those who live here. At this point comes the role of volunteerism. So, volunteer for an hour, a day or a week. Volunteer and make a difference in your community.
Man spends his life completely in harnessing his skills and increasing his assets, but can find the real meaning of life only when he begins giving to those who deserve. Many businessmen are known for their philanthropy. So, I hope the rest would ask themselves the same question: How can we make a difference?
We will work on supporting those who want to make a difference. There are opportunities for them, such as adopting a home for the disabled, caring for the elderly, building a clinic or a healthcare centre, starting education or health endowments or launching knowledge, environmental or humanitarian initiatives. I know some businessmen who transcended these works. Kudos and greetings to them. I don't exclude the expatriate businessmen, who make a difference in the UAE.
To our government institutions, I say whole of their work is giving. And open your doors to the volunteers. Provide the opportunities for giving and enter into partnership with the private sector. Relax the rules for those who want to do good. Reward those who want to make a positive difference.
(This is an excerpt from Shaikh Mohammed's article written in Arabic)