Look: When Sheikh Mohammed vowed to 'not turn back on region', built Dh1-billion charity

It was nine years ago, on October 4, 2015, when the Ruler of Dubai launched the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives (MBRGI) to fight poverty and illnesses, spread knowledge and culture, empower communities, and drive innovation.

“The Arab region is undergoing massive challenges. We will not turn our backs on our region, we will provide our support and bring hope for our youth,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, declared that day.

MBRGI was created to reach out and bring positive impact to more than 130 million people in the Arab region by providing basic human needs – from health, fighting illiteracy and poverty; to providing knowledge, dissemination of culture and development of education. It was also designed to work in parallel with developing a new generation of young Arab leaders for good governance and supporting innovation.

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Educate people for a better future

As reported by Khaleej Times, Sheikh Mohammed back then said: “The world today is facing great challenges on all levels: In terrorism, wars and mass immigration, and the only solution lies in human development which can be achieved by educating people and helping them build their future.”

“With all our work and initiatives, we seek nothing but God’s approval. Our true value is measured by what we add to this life and our true happiness lies in what we offer to make people happy. God has blessed the UAE with many gifts and we show our thankfulness with such acts,” Sheikh Mohammed highlighted.

Focus on the Arab region

The annual operating budget for MBRGI was initially set at more than Dh1 billion, working with 116 countries but focusing mainly on the Arab region.

Sheikh Mohammed explained: “Humanitarian work and development nowadays have transformed and today’s challenges require huge global foundations to contribute in creating real social change. The huge challenges faced by our region require a foundation of a scale that can meet the scale of these challenges."

“The world has spent tens of billions on addressing global challenges. If only a quarter of this amount was spent on development in our region, we would overcome our challenges and our people could overcome their difficulties to restore their role in building vibrant societies which contribute to the development and wellbeing of mankind,” he continued.

MBRGI’s primary goals were set to fight poverty, disseminate knowledge, empower communities and innovate for the future. The initial target was to support and educate 20 million children; prevent and treat 30 million people from blindness and eye diseases until 2025; and also invest Dh2 billion to establish medical research centres and hospitals in the region.

There was also the goal to empower more than two million families to enable them to become self-sufficient within 10 years. MBRGI was likewise created to support young entrepreneurs.

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