H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in Al Dhafra Region, and Chairman of the Emirates Red Crescent, ERC, has affirmed that Emirati charitable work is witnessing steady growth under the leadership of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan and has become an inherent characteristic of the UAE, as its fields and scopes have expanded, developed and grown, thanks to wise policies and a firm approach in this regard.
The UAE has taken an interest in charitable work as an approach and practice, and has harnessed its financial and human resources to enhance its various fields, said H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, noting that initiatives by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, have greatly contributed to the consolidation of the charitable work.
In a statement on the occasion of the International Day of Charity, which falls on 5th September, Sheikh Hamdan added that the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan laid the solid foundations upon which the UAE’s charitable and humanitarian work was based.
"The wise leadership of the UAE is following in the footsteps of the late Founding Father, whose charitable and development projects were spread everywhere and benefitted millions of the underprivileged and those in need."
The UAE charitable work has reached out to many sisterly and friendly countries across the world, he added.
Sheikh Hamdan affirmed that the UAE has expanded the umbrella of charitable work by supporting humanitarian actors in this field, urging them to find solutions that make it sustainable, broader and more influential in the segments and groups it targets.
He noted that the ERC is one of these organisations that is committed to fulfilling the aspirations of the UAE and its leadership in promoting the charitable and humanitarian work regionally and internationally.
The International Day of Charity is an international day observed annually on 5th September. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012. The prime purpose is to raise awareness and provide a common platform for charity related activities all over the world for individuals, charitable, philanthropic and volunteer organisations.