DUBAI // A Ramadan education campaign to distribute five million books to children in refugee camps and schools around the world was launched on Sunday by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai.
The Reading Nation campaign, announced by Sheikh Mohammed on Twitter, is part of Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives. He said that he asks God to accept his and the people’s good deeds during the holy month.
“Today, we announce our Ramadan campaign, ‘Reading Nation’,” he said. “The Reading Nation campaign will provide #5MillionBooks for refugee students and students in schools in need around the world.”
The campaign will directly provide children and school pupils with two million books, and establish 2,000 libraries, while supporting educational and humanitarian programmes.
Sheikh Mohammed said that the fastest way to end poverty is to eliminate ignorance.
“We plan to move from feeding the hungry to nurturing minds,” he said.
Businessmen, public and private institutions were invited to join the campaign, which Sheikh Mohammed described as a “shining beacon of hope from the UAE”.
Institutions were provided with five packages and can donate between Dh500,000 and Dh10 million to Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Dubai Islamic Bank, Sharjah Islamic Bank and Emirates Islamic Bank. For every Dh10, a book is donated.
Meanwhile, donation platforms were made available in malls across Dubai, including Mirdif City Centre, Festival City, Mega Mall, Dubai Marina Mall and Dubai Mall.
Residents can also donate to the campaign by texting the word “read” to one of the four available SMS numbers. The donation amount for the SMS number 9030 is Dh30; 9090 is Dh90; 9300 is Dh300; and 9900 is Dh900, which will allow for the donation of 90 books.
For more information, people can visit www.readingnation.ae or call 044504550.
(via The National)
